Twilight Legend
by WolfsLegend
Summary: Peace at last has been restored to Hyrule, but can such peace last? An old, forgotten legend has reawakened in the Twilight Realm to bring forth oncoming darkness and this time it does not intend to die off so easily. With the balance of light and darkness teetering off the edge, a beloved Hero threatens to turn against all of humanity and the light itself for the sake of sanity.
1. Prolouge

**This is the first FanFiction I ever did, and now that I am coming to a close on it... I'm going to re-edit the *bleep* out of this. Honestly, I can't believe the first chapter sucked that bad o-o Hopefully it's a little better and isn't so short, lacking in detail, and random as it was before editing... ugh... that was just... painful. It hurt my eyes and wasted three hours of my freakin' life trying to go back into that mindset. I'm well aware that I still need progress with writing but THAT was awful. Anyhow, all of these chapters will be re-edited (you will see This Prologue and chapter have been... blah blah blah on the beginning title of the Chapters somewhere and the chapters will not be labeled with pretty titles).**

**If you're a first time-reader please stick with it through the un-edited chapters, I know it's tough ^^; **

**R&R**

* * *

Legend of Twilight

_**This Prologue and Chapter have been re-edited (3-24-13)**_

**~Opening~**

_Three years since the Year of Twilight…_

* * *

A thick spray of golden twilight tangles through the clouds like cascading smoke; the tendrils cascading over the tallest of structures that dares stand out amongst the blackness. The mountainous tower, littered in pulsating, crimson emblems, nearly shadows the entirety of its home. Its darkness even shrouding the brightness of the skies.

All about this very palace do its inhabitants walk, their pace kind and gradual. Their shadowed faces painted with an earthly green color that easily shines out against their beloved palace's shadows. Only a few dare to stop with their shuffling patterns, their beady eyes of red giving a prideful look to the great monument that takes up the majority of their town's center. Only a few pause to flash a toothy smile, grunting in their abnormal language at the memory. Beady eyes summing up the height and glory of the statue and its striking resemblance to the realm's mighty hero, the Hero of Hyrule—Hero of Time. Ah, but not all give a slow acknowledgement to the statue. One strange fellow, feminine, differs from the rest. With her fiery red hair blazing over her shoulders, her black skirts shuffling madly against her thighs, and her lips pursed together does she run. She runs up the stone steps, giving a hopeful glance to the monument of Majesty's companion, as if her life depended on it.

"Make way, make way!" Her shrill voice awakes the crowd of slow pedestrians, the majority quickly parting to grant her quick passage to the palace's doors. However, even as she reaches the doors does she not stop in her demand to "make way," she shouts the command to the guards, to the servants, and such until she has reached the main hall, her strange, glowing tattoos pulsating frantically as if to match her heart.

She opens a door, then a second, now a third. All the while shouting out the multiple, definite titles of royalty, "Your Highness, Majesty. Queenliness."

The strange girl with flaming hair skitters to a stop, her feet skidding against the cold, stone floor only to give a quick bow before taking hold of an older woman's hand. She gives a soft sigh of relief, kissing the woman's hand out of honest respect before taking a step away to bow her head once more. "Please forgive me… I was… late again in acting out my duties as your maid, my Queen." She meekly announces between gasps of air. The woman, her similar hair braided about her head like a blazing snake, only gives a nod of sorts.

"All is well Leanda. There's no need to fret over such trivial things." She manages a smile, her gold-brimmed eyes doing little to silence the glint of annoyance in those ruby stained irises. "But this is the fifth time this week. Just because you are new to this task does not mean you can always lay an excuse every time you do wrong." The young maid flinched at this, clearly knowledgeable to the fact.

With that being said, the Queen reached up with her pale set of hands to untie the braid about her head. "Now do your job and fetch me my formal clothes. I have royal duties to attend to…" _'Like continuing to waste life away by plopping my butt down on an old, dusty, ugly throne and listen to matters that not even the Goddesses can fix.'_ The thought came bitterly, a smile daring to tug at her lips. Releasing a sigh, she let her hair go. The tendrils of flare fell about her back, wrapping gently about her figure in a waterfall-like gesture. With hands now free, she extended her arms to either side and awaited for her servant to tie the blackened cloak about her torso and neck. "I'll need the crown today as well." She added, tapping her servant's hands away so that she could tie the cloak about her herself.

Leanda gave a brisk nod, quickly fetching the tall, silver crown from the confines of its plush case. She placed it gingerly on the Queen's head, patting its rim for a traditional sign of good luck before retreating a few steps to await further orders.

"Thank you. Now, go see how things are in the kitchen." The maid nodded, bowing once more before nearly darting out of the room. The Queen watched her go, the hint of a smile now absent from her features. With reluctance she turned her back, giving one last look out at her realm before turning to follow Leanda out into the rest of the palace. "No use wallowing in memories, Midna." She muttered under her breath, closing her chamber doors at her back. "Just focus on getting these royal tasks over with… and then eat and sleep… and then do it all over again."

* * *

The stranger sauntered onto the stone steps, his cherry eyes glaring out at the palace monument with obvious disgust. For a moment he stood there, arms folded against his shadowy tunic, with two blackened beasts at his side. For a moment he glowered, his very aura seeming to ooze with clear hate. "M-Master, are you sure about this?" A wispy voice questioned feebly at his right, the speaker nothing but a figure of man made of shifting shadows. The only thing that wasn't of darkness on this fellow as well as its identical companion that clung to the stranger's other side was the eyes. The eyes that were white as snow with not a hint of a pupil nor iris. Nothing but a void of cloud.

He turned on the ghostly figure, gaze still visible. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? I've waited centuries for this Goddess forsaken day to arrive." His voice gave a hint of disuse, scratching and cracking at each syllable. Not only that, but it sounded a tad foreign. Ancient. "I didn't wake up from a good dream for nothing." He tested out a grin, the expression hard and narrow as if that too had not been practiced in a long while.

"But Master," the other figure began at his left, "the Queen of Twilight is a strong force to be reckoned with…"

"Irrelevant. Only when she has the Hero of Time by her side. Now keep your worried thoughts to yourselves." He waved a hand, growling at his two minions before ascending the steps.

* * *

"Your Highness, Majesty!" Midna opened her eyes, glancing up from her laid back posture atop the throne to give a questioning look to the frantic soldier that repeatedly bounced in front of her. His faceless shield clinked with each little jump, his eyes wide with fear. "Your Majesty!" She stifled a sigh, expecting another childish fight over spilt milk again (it had happened many a time before).

"What is it that worries you so?" She questioned, folding her arms about her as she continued to follow the bouncing soldier's rhythm of shifting from foot to foot, gasping, yelling titles, and then bouncing.

"Outsiders, your Majesty. Outsiders!"

She stood up at this, right up from her seat atop the throne. Her cloak rustled, crown tilting a bit backward on her head. _'That's impossible! I broke the Mirror. No one can come in… no one… outsiders…_ her fingers coiled into fists, anger clawing at her senses. This soldier was surely… "Surely you are mistaken! That's. Impossible."

As if sensing that his life would be on death's row if he didn't speak quickly and efficiently, "My Queen, I do not mean to judge by appearances, but they are not of this world! They came from down below, Frantescela saw them come from the abyss off the Twilit land's edge. Majesty, their appearance… it's almost like they're inverted versi-…"

The doors to the throne room burst open, the hinges erupting with a piercing squeak as the doors themselves cracked into the walls with the mightiest of crashes. Following the sudden action of the doors, a swarm of billowing smoke made its way in, the fingers reaching out at random directions amongst the room in an inky blackness.

Midna's fists unclenched as she took a quick step back, the back of her legs brushing heavily against the throne's legs. For a moment the two, the soldier and her, stared in awe at the man who easily strode in the room after the dramatic opening of doors and the assaulting, odorless smoke. This man… looked so much like…

_'Link?'_

"Ah, you must be the lovely Queen of the Twilight Realm. Midna, was it?" He questioned, grinning all the while. He spread his hands out before him, the smoke that littered the room rushing to his palms, "I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but it's only one-sided really." A chuckle. The smoke quickened in pace, the inky color forming a long rod between his hands. The rod stretched, whispering with a chorus of malicious intent as it formed into a corrupted version of a heavenly weapon.

_'The Master Sword?'_ She tilted her head in silent question, ignoring the soldier that drew his own blade to the response of this odd fellow. "Who are you?" Her voice spoke as if it owned its own will, surprising her at the anger that laced the tone.

"Ah, my beloved, little Queen… my name, you should know with great care." Another chuckle. The soldier that positioned himself before her tightened his grip on his sword. She in turn let her hands go back to forming fists, that untitled anger burning at her senses once more. "I am Link. Dark Link."


	2. Chapter 1

**-Chapter 1-**

**__****This Chapter has been re-edited (3-24-13)**

* * *

"Rusl? I didn't hurt you did I?" The young man teased, extending his hand with a smile. The older man, Rusl, only gave a laugh in return. For a moment he sat there, drenched and splayed out in the middle of Ordona's spring. His muddy locks taking on a darker shade with each drip of water. "That's the third time that you've beat me at my own game." He gave another sound of laughter as he finally took the boy's hand. His friend only grinned, giving a momentary glance over his shoulder to their onlooker. The onlooker, a child of sorts, bounded up toward them, bare feet splashing quite comically against the gentle surface of the spring.

"That was so cool!" The child began, flailing his arms about and ignoring the long strands of sunny hair that quickly fell into his gaze.

"Did you watch closely Colin?" Rusl's friend quizzed, sheathing his sword before siding with the boy. Colin nodded abruptly, his smile still evident.

"Can I try?"

His father laughed at this, patting his son lightly on the head before wading out onto warm, solid ground. "Very funny Colin, but now yet. Uli would surely kill me if I let you handle a sword right now, she still hasn't fancied the idea of you growing up… let alone the thought of you following your old man's footsteps to this extent."

Colin's smile fell, the disagreement as clear as day. "But father-…"

"Now Colin, I agree. Uli is still trying to get used to your random growth spurts and such. Now, she's already nagging at the both of us for letting you come along on our journeys past the village entrance. She's even started to fret over allowing you to come and watch our swordsmanship practice and all. For now, just sit tight and wait it out… she'll come around and then both your dad and I will show you the ropes of swordsmanship, promise."

"Right, as Link stated. Now quit your moping, we've got to head back before the sun sets. Otherwise Uli may have my soul and Link's head."

* * *

The burst of light flashed, orbs of gold spiraling all about the crystal clear pond as if fighting for a place to simply float. They danced about, bobbing into the water only to jump back out and continue at their mad pace of flying, colliding, and hopping. Only when an orb of darkness suddenly appeared from the pond's depths, the water receding in that instant, did the orbs of light vanish. Unlike its predecessors, this blackened orb gave a snowy glow. Its white light spun about its insides, forming minute webs of glowing emblems. At the center did it give a golden glow, its random fit of flashing ceasing to a dull pulse.

"_Chosen One that wears the mark of the Triforce... the one that takes shape of a blue-eyed beast in the shadows of Twilight..."_ the whispery voice droned, hissing as the pulse of the golden light turned sour. Faster. Darker. Oddly, it even went as far as to begin bleeding, the soft white glow and the ferocious flare of golden light turning to nothing but blood.

"Link?"

"_Voice of the Goddesses… Hero of Time… your presence is ne-…"_

"Link!"

Link jumped up from his tangled position amongst the sheets, his hands immediately clamping to his forehead in attempts to wipe at the sweat that coated his skin. His fingers brushed at his forehead, scraping at the golden strands that interfered with his groggy vision. _'What in Hyrule's name was that? I've never had a dream like that… but it wasn't even scary or something to fret about so why is my heart so-…"_

A bang resonated within his house, the sudden sound knocking him clear out of bed. "Link, wake up!" He stayed motionless for a moment, wide eyes studying the wooden grain that littered his floor. His mind was racing, utterly confused by the frantic tone that the speaker used. What were they freaking out over? Was it daytime already? Was it-

"Link, hurry and get out here! Wake. Up." The familiarity finally stuck. Rusl.

He clambered down the ladder, barely having enough time to shove on an off-white shirt and trousers, and ran to the door. His feet slipped, his hands nearly inches from grasping he sword that rested against the section of wall right beside the door. When his body contacted with the ground, he gave a cry of pain. The groggy state was really not helping him right now.

"Link?" Rusl continued on calling, sounding more frantic with each demanding call. His friend's worry brought him back to his feet, grabbing the sword and sheath right before bolting out the door. Only, as he opened the door did he freeze.

Rusl dodged at just the right time, his head being missed by a mere second as the black monstrosity crashed into the ladder that led up to Link's humble abode. It gave a bloodcurdling shriek, gruesome claws and slimy dreadlocks coiling with irritation. Even from Link's point of view and the limited lighting of dusk, the creature was coated with blood and glowing symbols. Goddesses, it even reeked. Just from his spot atop his welcoming matt he could smell it, the smell of decaying meat. Again it charged at Rusl, its gigantic arms reaching out to grasp at any part of the Ordonian, but at the last minute Rusl found a way to roll underneath the beast.

Shaking away his bit of fear, Link jumped off the ledge. He rolled slightly, lessening the impact before bouncing up to aid his comrade. Only when he did, did the old swordsman push him backward in attempts to block the beast a third time as it again lunged at Rusl.

"What's happening?" Link yelled above the thick huffing fit of the beast, unsheathing his sword with the utmost amount of emergency.

"I don't know!" Rusl replied, jumping back from nearly having his head knocked off for the umpteenth time. "They just came out of nowhere. They are all over the village!"

Link gave a nod, adjusting his full attention to the creature before them. For a few seconds it seemed entirely engrossed in Rusl's presence but then… it sniffed the air, literally sniffed the surroundings before spinning around and facing Link. For that brief moment it stayed silent, frozen. Then it spoke, "Chosen One." Its voice brought a chill to the very trees, raspy and sick. Its faceless mask beaming at him, the voice falling into nothing but devilish growls.

Faceless mask… dreadlocks… red symbols… he nearly fell back from the realization, the memory. It was one of them. One. Of. Them. "No!" He shouted, swinging his sword aimlessly at the monster who simply side-stepped, "That's impossible. This can't be happening. It just can't! I killed him. Midna broke the mirror. Twilight and Light are back to normal!"

"Now is not the time to break down, Link!" Rusl barked, grasping his shoulder. "What are you even spouting?" He continued, shaking him, "Come on and just-jus… t…" Link turned, feeling Rusl's hand recede from his shoulder. Hesitant and entirely confused he reached a hand for his comrade only to pull it briskly back to his side, watching as Rusl crumpled to the ground in a bloodied heap. The frightened lad stayed there for another minute, staring at the corpse. At those separate pair of eyes that stared at him, blinking a bit before freezing eternally… even the color of life descended to the depths of a frozen state. Again he extended a hand, but again he drew it back, unable to think. To even form words was impossible.

The monster shuffled toward him completely now, all the while muttering that annoying title, "Chosen One… Chosen One… Chosen One…" He met its eyeless gaze, the fit of confusion and shock leaving his system with the awareness. Rusl was dead. Gone to the world. Pushing up daisies. His head was literally wiped clean off, the monster's blow had finally got him.

Without a second thought he turned and ran. He ran down the only possible route, the path to the spring and the woods. He ran and ran, slipping over rocks in a blind fit to escape the monster that clambered after him. Hearing its puffy breath and smelling its sick scent just drove him to carry on faster, the fear of death really shaking him as he neared the turn on the path only to stop dead in his tracks.

"Chosen One… Chosen One…"

He gave a bit of a squeak in response before turning on his heel, his last option being the Ordon Spring. His bare feet splashed into the cool water, the piercing sound of the monsters' conjoined roars urging him to go deeper into the spring despite its oncoming glow of golden light. The light grew and grew, burning his very eyes as he continued until his hands brushed the rock. With heart still hammering against his chest he turned, back pressed heavily against the stone of the spring. Unable to focus on the golden waters of the spring, his eyes only looked onto the monsters that fought their way to enter the narrow passage. Their roars increasing with each passing second.

"_Chosen One of Hyrule, the Hero that takes shape as a blue-eyed beast… the time for you to become a Hero has come once more." _Similar to his dream, a shining orb of multi-colored light appeared right in the middle of the waters. It gave a flash of golden hue, raising up from the spring with a melodic pop. The very sound unwillingly drew his eyes away from the monsters that still continued to fight amongst each other only to squint at the magnificent ball of luminesce. It circled around the spring slightly, bits of light falling like mere bird feathers and vanishing once they touched the water's surface.

"But-but how did this even happen. I defeated Ganon, Zant."

"_An unexpected situation has occurred. Your help is needed a second time, Chosen Hero. A Twilight Legend of old has reawakened after centuries upon centuries. It now acts as Hyrule's new enemy. For this reason, you must leave this province of Ordon… it is no longer safe. Darkness is searching for you… you must leave at once and journey to Gerudo Desert to the shattered Mirror of Twilight. There the Sages will assist you further on the task to rid this land of the oncoming darkness, to destroy this disgusting parasite."_

"But wait, I don't understa-…"

"_All in good time. Now you must leave. The source of the darkness is here, nearby… coming. I will transport you as close as I am able to Gerudo without giving away your whereabouts. Now, become the Hero that Hyrule needs once more. I send luck to you!"_

Before Link could muster a word, the orb flashed with the brightest of lights that he had witnessed ever possible. It brought his vision to utter white, the breeze to a maddening frenzy, and the coldness about him to a solid warmth of a blanket.

"_And may the Goddesses be with you."_ Was the last that he heard through the raging of the winds that pulled at his clothes and tangled through his golden locks, his vision blurring from the very force of it all.

* * *

**Yesh, Twilight Beasties do not like sharing a path, door, or same idea together let alone have patience for one another. Thus, they cannot get through a passage to go and gut Link (literally) because they dislike each other and cannot share or be friendly... so... children, share and be friendly to one another so you can... wait... that's a poor motivator... never mind.**

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-It's 5 in the morning when I finished re-editing this :D**

**-I deleted the stupid little text thing for the prologue... I really don't know what that was (and I doubt any of you know what I'm talking about but, trust me, that's a good thing)**

**-I don't like the final product of my re-editing, but oh well... I'm too tired too care right now...**

**-The original product showed the fact that I like to use ellipse too much**

**-Actually is six pages**

**-I cut the "sword play" bit with Rusl, Link, and Colin a bit since it was redundant**

**-I cut out the "happy-go-lucky-memory-time-with-the-Ordon-Kid-Gang" aaaaall out since this story focuses on a bit of twisted stuff (as usual with me c; )... 'cause I can and I'm just plain weird like that... that and it too was redundant and dull and blah**

**-I'm tired.**


	3. Chapter 2

**This is the first FanFiction I ever did, and now that I am coming to a close on it... I'm going to re-edit the *bleep* out of this.  
**

**If you're a first time-reader please stick with it through the un-edited chapters, I know it's tough ^^; **

* * *

**-Chapter 2-  
**

**__****This Chapter have been re-edited (4-14-13)**

* * *

The aging bridge burst with sporadic light, its golden wisps spiraling downward with a musical sound before brushing over the bridge's surface. For a moment the light floods over, encasing the middle of the passage entirely. The glow itself setting the bridge's mundane gray to a fiery gold, but then as it appeared, it vanished. Without warning it leaves, leaving nothing but a crumpled body of a human and equine in its wake.

Even with the light—the teleport—gone, the duo dare not rise for both are trapped in slumber. However, only Link shows movement, his fingers clawing at the stone floor with great urgency to the point where his nails draw blood. Even then his nails continue to claw at the floor, his body following only moments behind by convulsing. He gives forth a faint cry, his eyes sealed shut against their will as he falls deeper and deeper into the forceful slumbers created by Ordona of the spring.

_Just run, run, run. Don't stop. Just ignore the pain, the blood that covers your body. Never stop. You'll get through. You'll survive, somehow. Just. Don't. Stop. Not until you reach the hill. It's urgent. Why? I don't know. Nevertheless, there's something important… someone… I dig my boots into the fresh Hyrulean soil, splaying my hands out against my knees in a manner to catch up on my breath. I hadn't realized how steep this hill was or how troublesome my wounds had become. _

"_You're out of shape." The sweet, foreign voice greets my ears, setting forth an avalanche of memories—emotions. Forgetting my breath, I let my head snap back to the hill itself. Sure enough, the speaker dwells just a few feet away from me what with her swirling cloaks, that golden hair, and that devilish smirk. "Miiii…" my tongue slips, my very will being ripped away. I haven't seen her for three years yet… I can't speak… wh-_

_ "So we meet again, Link."_

_ "Mmmm…" I try again, reaching out toward my long lost friend, but again my voice fails me. Not only that, but when I reach out… she becomes covered in blood. Coated in rusted crimson from head to toe. Then comes her collapse as she falls to the ground, hacking up blood and screaming from unimaginable pain. _

_ Frantic now, I reach for her again, but her condition only worsens… the blood only-_

_ "Why did you do this to me! Why? Why!" She screams out, her eyes directed to me with the most horrifying of glares that I had ever been gifted. "You. Did. This. You traitor. I trusted you!"_

_ No._

_ "I believed in you!"_

_ No!_

_ "I-_

Light floods into the realm of sleep, his eyes snapping open in the most wild of manners. Immediately upon awaking, he rises. His head snaps up, his hands flying forward as if to reach for a fallen comrade but his fingers only greet air. "M-Midna." He gasps, allowing his arms to fall limp on his lap. "Goddesses, that was so… too realistic." He gave a shake of his head, his sky eyes rolling about at the newfound surroundings. With just a mere glance he could note the absence of vegetation, the bottomless pit beneath this frail bridge… _'Eldin.'_ Not Gerudo. Doing his best to rid his conscience of the dream he was gifted by that annoying, holy goat of light, he pushed himself up from the dusty ground of the bridge itself. His bones popped, creaking in protest. Dear Nayru, it was as if he had been sleeping for more than just an hour or so!

Stretching upward, his eyes flicked to his mare. The furry companion was still sleeping. Resisting a urged sigh he then glanced to his clothes. He really didn't want to… he never liked the sight of blood in general, let alone a friend's blood. "W-Wait? What the-…" he gasped, his fingers tugging with evident confusion at his new attire. "The Hero's tunic? When did I-?" He spun around, his head tilting this way and that as if to make sure that his dream hadn't made him go crazy. That he-

He froze in his frenzied spinning, his hands immediately flying to his forehead. "Ah." The whimper left, leaving him to fall back to Eldin's bridge on his knees. All the while the memories came. Coming at him like a darkened wave of endless arrows. So many emotions. So much pain and sadness. So much…

"Rusl!" Link cried out, his voice waking up his friend. She quickly found her way up on those steady legs, her whinny violently ripping him from his trance. Right as his eyes opened to the world about him once more he was thrown forward. He wretched then, disgusted by the realization that he now held. Ordona had sent him here, leaving his village to die without its famous Hero to protect it.

He had cowered, ran like a baby and left the multitude of Ordon to die. "No, no, no!" He screamed, wiping at his mouth with the gloved hands. "No." He let his hands fall, fingers clawing at the rough concrete that bit at his nails. "Goddesses. Dammit. Of all the things I do, I just ran like a coward! Why didn't I help? I could have saved Rusl instead of getting all scared and trembly by a bunch of Twilight rejects!" He swore, ignoring Epona's worried nudge at his shoulder.

_'But it's too late… right?'_

A groan. Yes, that was true. As sad as it was.

` _'Anybody would flee in your position. You can't intervene with death as it is. Your power is with Time itself.'_

Yes. Truth. Disgusting as it sounded.

_'That's right, focus on more important things, Link. Those monsters that invaded Ordon were not of this world… they were Twilit monsters. Ones cursed by their own darkness. Not only that but didn't Ordona say something of a Twilight Legend?'_

He stood, hands clenched at his sides. "I need to speak to Lanayru." His voice shook at the syllables. If anything, he just wanted to continue at wallowing in despair and frustration. Truthfully… another journey was not what he fancied. _'It never was, but I have no choice. I'm Hyrule's only hope. Always am.'_ With his poor encouragement he took the reins of his equine comrade. "Come on, we'll go down to Lake Hylia and see what needs to be done about this. Maybe we can get some answers too…"

_'But if the Twilit monsters are out here then what of Midna? What about that dream? I thought there was no such thing as another legend, other than the ones of Courage, Power, and Wisdom.'_

With a shake of his head, he mounted his horse. No, no need to think of such negative things right now. Perhaps Ordona was just speaking in riddles with its warning and meant to say that the Twilight Mirror that broke was releasing the other realm's darkness… or something… nah, optimism just made it sound worse.

**III**

The domain was riddled with decaying vines, the fingers stretching out over ancient runes and snakehead statues. Now, even cracks littered the stone walls. The indentions spiraling out as if to represent disease by each arm that reach either side of the walls. Three years had certainly taken its toll on the sanctuary of Hylia. For the wall was not the only thing that showed changed; the ground was uneven, the once green grass now yellowed, and even the statues that acted as representations of the spirit that resided in this hole were eroded. If a traveler from the outskirts of Hyrule came here they would never know of what this sanctuary held or what it worshipped. The snake figures were just blobs of eroded rock now, the detailed carvings nearly washed away from just a few years passing.

Link edged his way to the cliff that overlooked the pond. Despite the conflicting emotions that dwelled within him he was rather glad to see that the pond of Lanayru had not been changed by time itself. The waters were still crystal clear.

With one final scan of the refuge about him he finally turned back to the waters. "Lanayru." He called with a mere whisper. Despite his faint speech, the voice was thrown about the domain. "Lanayru, I need you." He spoke louder this time, the tone bouncing off even louder than the last.

_"I heard you the first time, Heavenly Child." _A dreadful note echoed back, whispering in a loud manner about him. _"It seems that you did not arrive at your desired destination… Ordona's teleportation was interrupted then…"_ The thick voice settled at this realization, emotion seeming to form ripples across the water's glassy surface. _"If that is so then I will answer as you wish, Chosen Hero."_ Waters flashed gold, the holy light erupting the whole sanctuary into a colorful frenzy. In just that one burst of light the domain seems to take on a form of fresh attire, not a vine, cracked bit of wall, or eroded statue in sight. Ah, but as it changed did it fall back to its prior state. Nothing but time showing as the golden waters shot upward to the cave's holey ceiling.

Link retreated backward, his eyes trailing after the water that was beginning to form the snake that he had not seen since the Year of Twilight. It spiraled outward, the golden water beginning to burst even more with the light as a snake's head shot up toward the shooting water. Its mouth opened wide, head crashing into the falling water. Once its fangless lips touched, a brilliant flash of light shone. As the scene settled, the light dimmed. The water that shot up to the heavens fell entirely to the pond below the dangling cliff.

Lanayru bobbed its head to the Hero's eye level, the orb of glowing brilliance resting in its mouth. _"Chosen Hero that takes shape as a blue-eyed beast when tainted by the Twilight, a new threat has laced itself upon Hyrule's land."_

"But wait, I defeated Ganondorf and Zant. I'm sure of it. The Mirror of Twilight is even broken. How is this pos-…"

_"They are dead. They are not the threat, no, this darkness is greater than they could ever be, Hero."_

"Then who is the enemy then?" He sighed with clear exasperation.

_"An enemy so great, one that surrounds the forgotten legend of the Twilight Realm, that it could shatter a heavenly soul with just a mere glance. After centuries of slumber, it has awakened. The Sisters of Three and my brothers deemed the legend, Twilight Legend, an exiled being. It represented the third Hero of Time… but unlike your ancestors and the path they chose, it took on the path of malevolence. It nearly destroyed Hyrule and all the Light that this land relishes. Worried of the people we govern, we confined the Legend. We banished it from the memories of Hyrule and sent it to the depths of the Twilight Realm where it would never interfere with Light again as it had in the past."_

_ "This Legend turned from its rightful path. It became the Chosen One of Darkness, not Light. It had become corrupted by death and other needless emotion. It is deemed the Twilight Legend due to becoming the opposite of what we expected, a traitor of sorts."_

_ "Hero, this Legend is your linage's counterpart. Therefore, you are the only being that can stop it. The Twilit Legend knows well of this and has already acted out by searching for you. That is why your night was interrupted by beasts from the Twilight Realm."_

"What about the Twili and Princess Zelda? Are they all okay? How did the Twilight Legend escape if the mirror is broken?" The snake finally paused, its eyeless face tilting slightly in question.

_"The Twilight Legend will not cease in its search for you. Be aware of this, young Hero. For it will send its minions, Shadow beings that take a shape that resemble only you- cloaked in the darkest of colors-, to hunt you down to your death."_

"Yeah, I get that, but you didn't answer my ques-…"

"_There is no time for that! Head to Gerudo Desert. You will find the answers yourself Hero, but you must go before it's too late._"

Link released a sigh, crossing his arms. Of course he had expected this. The Light Spirits were always like this, closing off what he really needed to know. "All right, I will, but at least answer me this- the Twilight Legend, is it like the Shadows and what's its name?"

_ "Chosen Hero," _it seemed to sigh, _"there is no time for more questions. You must fi- behind you!" _The heavenly voice shrieked, breaking free of its calm conversation as it whipped its head backward. Immediately the realm darkened, the golden light of the great snake even seeming to dim slightly. Confused as ever, Link spun about only to be thrown backward by an invisible force. He found himself flying backward, clear over the pond to the other side. His back struck stone, the back of his head smacking into an eroded snake statue.

Lanayru's hiss resounded, the glowing light that laminated its porcelain body seeming to pulse even more. _"Wretched creature!" _It howled, the pond seeming to burst back to its state of golden light.

Link pushed himself up against the stone wall, his world tilting to and fro from the pain that lit at the back of his head. With clouded eyes he watched as the back of Lanayru shot forward, out of the water… and watched as the light of the snake itself vanished with a wave of dusty black. Then came the shriek of a million screams, the orb of light being the last to disappear as it was thrown back and plunged deep into the pond. As the orb descended from the watery surface did the domain darken even more, the golden light no longer able to shine against it.

The black tendrils reached out across the waters, the same blackness that seemed to make the heavenly snake vanish. It met the pond's face, a shadowy boot forming out of a wispy tentacle. Then came and arm, a torso, another leg, the next arm… and the fa-…

"Say good night, Chosen One!" The shadow screeched, forming its way out of the cloud of darkness entirely as it raced toward him. Link snapped out of his daze, his head smacking against stone wall a second time as he tried to manage his way to a standing position, but as his hands clawed at the wall behind him in that one weak attempt, the Shadow came at him.

The sword went straight through, only inches from his heart as it plunged into the wall behind him. Again his head hit the wall, his voice screaming out at the sudden pain that ripped through his chest. Then the sword angled down, ribbing through the tissue of his skin like mere paper. He screamed a second time then, his nail biting at the wall that he was now forcefully pinned to, "Gah!" The sword was yanked free of his chest, the blade cutting into even more flesh at its release.

It came again, this time plunging through his shoulder. Again his voice cracked out, his fingers now bleeding from scratching the rough texture of the wall that now trapped him. "Pathetic soul." The Shadow rasped, its cold voice setting Link's pain on fire as the blade dug deeper. "To think that with one flick of the wrist, your legend will be quickly forgotten. To think that your mere death will mean that darkness thrives. The blade was roughly pulled out, fingers tugging at his hair and forcing him to stand upward as he was again slammed into the wall.

His sapphire eyes met the eyes of pure snow, not an iris in sight as he overlooked the disgusting shadow of man as it brought its sword straight through his side. As the blade embedded itself against his ribcage, his strands of sunlit hair were released. He fell forward, his forehead cracking against the ground as the sword was again pulled from his flesh. He whimpered then, the smell of decaying rust making him cringe as his hands raced to his side. Such a deep cut that it was… he could feel so much blood.

So much pain.

"Agh!" A boot kicked him back down on the ground, the sword biting at his back. Its blackened metal seeping farther and farther at an agonizing pace until it met the other end of his flesh. Then the blade angled, spinning back out of his being one last time.

So much blood.

Cold.

The boot left his back, but the absence of the foot and blade did little to silence the pain that ate away at his senses. Fear riddled the remaining conscience that he held, the rest focusing on the pain. Whimpering all the while he reached out, his bloodied hand clawing at the yellow grass beneath him. If he could just reach the spring. Just touch its watery surface then all would be- "Ah!"

He was jerked up from the ground, his back meeting the wall once more. "Good bye, _beloved_ Hero." It cackled, raising the sword high above its head.

The pain… the blood… cold.

Link trembled, pressing his back hard against the rough surface of Lanayru's sanctuary. He watched as the blade swooped down, watched his reflection flash on its darkened surface. Then it all fell to his own darkness.

**III**

_ "To think that with one flick of the wrist, your legend will be quickly forgotten. To think that you're what Hyrule looks up to, pathetic. You lo-… _looks in bad shape." The voice blurred, worry coating its tone amongst the darkness.

"Do not worry your highness… _pathetic sou-_ wounds will heal in due time. It's lucky we found him before he was finished off…"

"But _darkness will prevail-_ those wounds made by the sword aren't normal. His skin is blackened wherever the blade had contact."

The voices kept becoming mixed, twisting into a mass hysteria of voices. Nothing but nonsense to his ears. Nothing but cold. Pain. Darkness. Nothing but the voi-

_"Coward! I trusted you! I believed in you!"_

A screeching voice assaulted his black realm. Again the voices returned, their nonsense of noise sounding clearer than ever as it formed a familiar note. _"Traitor. You're nothing but a monster!"_

Midna… _'No, I didn't do it! I didn-...'_

_ "Monster!"_

_ 'No. That's not true. No, no-'_

"No!" He lurched up, his hands reaching out to who knows what as his eyelids were flooded with light. Immediately upon awaking he was forced down against the softness and warmth, the hand withdrawing right when he lashed out at the interrupter. Again he sat up, his eyes adjusting the sudden light as he prepared to rip whoever had forced him down to smithereens.

"Not so fast now, you're still severely wounded. You must rest." The shape of a being popped out against his blurry vision, multi-colored scales and bright sea-green eyes brimming up at him in a curious fashion. Cuts littered its neck, cuts that moved as it gave breath. "Oh ,but sorry if I startled you." It waved a slick, webbed hand and gave a toothless smile.

A Zora. The people of the waters.

"W-Where am I?" He questioned, ignoring his thoughts that told him clearly of his whereabouts what with the sea-themed room, the sandy floor beneath them, and the coral reefs that poked out of the walls at random.

The Zora, the youngest and shortest he had seen of the creatures, allowed its smile to falter at the question. Brushing a webbed hand over its box shaped head, it managed a shaky laugh, "Well obviously you're in the Domain of the Zoras. One of our guards heard a noise and headed to the Lanayru spring to investigate. He told us he saw you and a man. He called nearby guards to join him and they intervened before you were killed. They took you back here right away when the man fled… we haven't seen the fellow since. The King, father, has been worrying over you since you were brought here. He stepped out for a bit just now, I'll go and fetch him and inform him that you have awakened." With that the young Zora skittered out, its webbed feet slapping against the sandy floor as it disappeared behind a curtain of falling water.

Link stared at the water for a moment longer before pulling the crisp, brown sheets down to his ankles. As he had suspected, bloodied bandages were all about his torso, arms, and chest. Hesitantly he allowed a finger to trace the stain at his side. The mere touch burned, but he easily ignored it for that wasn't what held his worry. The stain was unnatural. It wasn't just red from the wound but also black. A scary, spiraling black. His finger slipped up to the bandage's edge. The worry was getting worse. Was there something magical about that Shadow's blade? Wait… was it even a Shadow as Lanayru had mentioned? He finger slipped into the bandage, the burning sensation reaching its peak as he pulled the gauze back to further examine the wound.

"Link?"

He drew his hand back, head snapping up at the waterfall-like door only to wince at the brisk movement. Goddesses did his head hurt.

"Link!" The voice sounded pleased, a taller Zora than the one he had sighted before slipping into the room. It quickly reached his side, smiling all the while. Unlike the younger Zora, this fishy fellow held on jewelry, all of it made of coral and fish bone. It even wielded a necklace laced with fish skeletons and mismatched pieces of coral. To top it off, it even wore a cape of sorts. "It's me," it spoke again with a musical voice, "Prince… King Ralis."

His eyes widened at this as he studied the fishy creature, trying to connect this taller Zora to the small, dainty little fish boy that he had aided three years past. "King Ralis?"

The Zora's smile grew, seeming pleased at his comrade's recognition. "That's right. I became King of my people a few months after you returned to your home. I even married and have a son, you met him when you awoke." But then his smile faded entirely, watery eyes narrowing. "But this isn't the time for all of that. What happened to you? Your wounds are rather gruesome, you know. It's almost as if the weapon itself was like a torch of some sort with the way your wounds look. With the shape that they're in, sad to say, I was surprised that you're alive."

"Are my wounds… black?" He questioned, gesturing to the stains that devoured his bandages. The fish king nodded, frown evident.

"Yes," he sighed, "but we can't give a clear answer. Not even my best doctors could give a reason to the abnormal color. It's not really black… but a… well, it's quite hard to explain. Enough of that though, what happened?"

His eyes looked down to the stains, noting the pain that coiled about his waist. "I'm not really sure. I was just trying to ask Lanayru some questions when I was thrown against the wall and Lanayru… vanished."

"You spoke to-… well, you are the Hero of Time so I guess that isn't a surprise." Ralis gave a slight smile, "But is there any way that my people can assist you? Do you even know who attacked you?

"No thanks and I'm not really sure. All I know is that I need to head to Gerudo Desert. Hopefully I can find something out there."

"Gerudo Desert! Why are you leading yourself in a wretched place like that?"

"I need to looks for some answers. I think Hyrule is battling a new enemy, again."

"Link, what are you talking about?"

"I know, it sounds crazy since nothing has happened yet to prove all of this, but… I just need to get some questions answered." He paused, his eyes glancing down at the bandage that obscured the heavenly mark on his hand, "Some things happened at Ordon too and if what Odona said is true then… this enemy is greater than anything we've seen." Giving a short glance to his fishy friend, "Ralis, how long am I to stay here before I can get a move on?"

The Zora frowned even more so at this, "Link, I don't think you will be able to move for at least a week or so. Your wounds are unquestionable. They're-…"

"What if I leave tomorrow?"

"Ha, very funny Link, although I would like to see you try since you are wounded, but we both know you will not make it out of Zora Domain because of your wounds. I will make sure of it that you will not be able to leave until you are able to stand without pain. If you want to leave and head to your destination I suggest you rest. Your horse is being taken care of so do not worry."

"But you don't understand!"

"Let's say that what you're saying is nothing but the truth." Ralis began, "If you leave the boundaries of my Domain, you could be killed on the spot with wounds like yours. Just give it time. Hyrule would be nothing without you after all. Just rest. At least give your wounds a couple of days to heal up some."

_'But…'_

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**Fun Fact(s):**

**-7 Pages BABY :D**

**-I took out the parts where Link falls in the spring of Lanayru, removed the shadow beasts (Twilight Monsters) and just kept the Shadow, and the little minigame of jumping off a cliff and hanging onto a cucco part (it was stupid and meaningless... why I put it in there, no clue).**

**-King Ralis has a child, yes. The child would be about two years old... why can it speak so well? Let's just say that Zoras grow up differently in certain areas.**

**-I like the re-editing so much better... but good land was it painful to read o-o (hopefully it's better no ^^;)**


	4. Chapter 3

**This is probably the smallest chapter I have on Fanfictions o-o So it was easy to re-edited XD**

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**-Chapter 3-**

_**This Chapter has been re-edited (4-14-13)**_

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The Shadow seemed to wallow in regret and fear as it trudged up those echoing steps, mumbling curses as it neared the castle doors with each heavy step. It dragged its bloodied sword by its side, the blade's tip forming a bloody line as its wielder continued its walk. Giving a faint look to the fallen statue of the Hero of Time, its once hopeful stance now nothing but a pile of rubble, it grimaced. The Master would surely be angry. No, more than angry.

Yes, this poor little Shadow was going to die. "All because of that stupid little soul." It swore once more as it stopped at the castle doors, its body shifting into mists of shadow as its shape completely shattered and slipped underneath the door's crack.

On the other side of the door the shadows shot up and formed man once again, the white-eyed Shadow once more stepping forward with that same depressed gait. This stupid palace throne room would probably be the last thing it would ever see. Yes, even these neon green carpets with the old Twili runes that embraced the steps that lead up to the throne would be his last sight.

"Took you long enough." A voice resounded somewhere above the steps. Such a voice it was that it sounded far worse when compared to the Shadow's own raspy note. Stifling a shiver, it raised its head to face its master.

The fellow, cloaked in midnight, looked down at it from atop the Twilight throne. He sat there in the most casual of manners, stretched out with his legs over the arm of the throne and his back resting against the opposite. As if annoyed at the Shadow's sudden silence, its master shifted in the throne. He sat upright, porcelain hand now resting against his chin as he leaned forward with those ruby eyes of his. His black hair, looking almost gray underneath this Realm's light, obscured part of his bloody eyes yet did little to hide the rising annoyance that seemed to be portrayed by the pursing of his lips. "By the look of your sword… you finished the task, yes? Which means that Hyrule's beloved Hero is no longer a threat, right?" He pressed, eyes narrowing at the blackened and bloodied blade that the Shadow carried at its side.

"Well, my master…" its voice trailed off one its master stood, those scarlet eyes taking on a deadly glint.

He took a step down one of the stairs, the atmosphere about the room seeming to thicken with black, "Well what?" The room trembled underneath the aura that its master seemed to throw about him, the darkness taking on a more deadlier edge and temperature.

"I foll-followed your orders master. Yes, with all honesty. I successfully entered the land of the Light Dwellers and invaded the village of Ordon."

"And the Hero of Hyrule? Was he not there?"

The Shadow gave a faint nod before taking a quick step back as its master descended another stair. "I did. Honest I did, but the guardian of Ordon interfered and transported him away."

Its master met his side then, grasping its throat and slamming it against the castle doors without warning. For that one moment its shadowy appearance went solid, black skin replacing the shifting shadows from its master's touch. His fingers laced its black neck, tightening the more that it squirmed and pried at his hand, "You gave up?" He yelled, his eyes glowing with evident malice.

"Gah! No, no of course not! I found him again at Lanayru's spring!"

"But you didn't kill him?"

"No, the people of that province interfere- agh! I almost had him, hon-"

Its master slammed it once more against the doors before fully releasing its neck, leaving it to crumple to the floor in a gasping mess. "So you failed." He began, extending his left arm out from his side. "You failed a simple task." His hand outstretched, the shadows about the room racing toward that single, open palm in a frenzy, "All you had to do was kill him. That was all I said yet here you are, groveling." With a dark flash, his own inverted form of the Master Sword formed in his palm. Its blackened surface glinted, reflecting the Shadow's snowy eyes.

The Shadow stiffened as it eyed the blade, giving a bit of a flinch as the blade was lowered to the floor. "But I did manage to wound him!"

"A wound heals in time, Shadow. Even wounds by our blades, what with their magic, can be healed over time. Did you at least smother the Lights in darkness?"

"Yes master, the Ordona and Lanayru Provinces now lay in utter darkness."

"Good. You managed to not fail me entirely." His fingers released the hilt of his sword, the blade bursting into mists if blackness. "But next time I will not let you go so easily. Next time finish your task that is given to you, no matter what. We cannot have the Chosen Hero of Light stand in our way. When the land of Hyrule finds out their predicament then they will look to him for hope of it ending and that… must not happen."

"Yes master." It nodded briskly, resisting the urge to sound thankful or relieved of being spared.

Its master trudged back up the stairs, turning around briefly to glare at the Shadow once more, "Go back to the land of the Light Dwellers and search for the Hero of Light a second time. When you find him, kill him without hesitation. Without an ounce of time wasted or mercy used. If you cross paths with the other Light beings then kill them as well, smother them with darkness so that all of Hyrule will be covered."

"Yes master, I will do just that." Showing its relief now, the Shadow pushed itself back on its feet before giving another abrupt nod.

"Oh… and Shadow," It froze then, taking a slight step back as a precautionary measure, "when it is my time to enter the land of Hyrule, I will expect him dead. If he is not by then- I promise you—then I will rip out your pathetic shell of a soul and shove it down your throat."

"Yes master, of course." It turned then, dissipating into a mass of darkness and leaving the throne room without a moment's wait. Leaving nothing but a growling master in its wake.

Again its master sat up right in the throne, leaning forward with a deadly gaze coating his expression. "We can't have my counterpart there when I enter the scene. That worthless minion should know better than to sulk back up to me like a beaten dog." He spit, "It knows just as the second Shadow, I can't step foot on that disgusting land if their little Hero is still thriving. Light and Dark can never coexist; therefore, me stepping onto those lands with him still living… he'll end me with just a little swing of his sword." He leaned back in the throne, sighing in annoyance as he raised his hand to gaze at the inverted Triforce sketched across the back of it. "But patience has never been a strong quality of mine."

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**Fun Fact(s):**

**-Listening to Hollywood Undead while re-editing all this Ordon goat crap :3**

**-I've always wanted to say the threat that Dark Link says to the Shadow to someone .**


	5. Chapter 4

**Anyone getting all these foreshadowing hint stuff X3**

**Please do land me a Review, I would like some feedback so that I may progress in my writing. You didn't like it? Well then... Review and tell me why dang it o-o How else you expect me to improve?**

***I really hope I'm not being too brisk in this chapter ^^; Dang, so self-conscious right now.**

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**-Chapter 4-**

******__****This Chapter have been re-edited (4-19-13)**

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The young Hero sat there for a moment, his eyes lidded with frustration. Again fresh bandages were applied to his wounds and again… the blackness that colored such wounds did not cease in tint. No, they only got darker. It was almost as if the blade of the Shadow fellow was consumed with such darkness that it… burned him? Yes, that sounded right. It burned him. Even now as he sits there, naked torso and fresh bandages atop scratchy sheets, it burned.

With a determined gaze touching his features, he lifted his head. The matted strands of sunlit hair streamed over his vision, and for a moment he gave a glare at the waterfall floor through the yellow hue. Ah but with a brush of a hand, his glare hardened. Two days… two days he had rested and two days he had given this new enemy freedom to roam about Hyrule, doing who knows what.

_'Well no more. I'm tired of sitting on my ass all day letting Hyrule succumb to this newcomer's darkness.'_ Not only that, but it bothered him on the wounds that such a blackened weapon could create… if the stranger he had encountered in the Hylia spring was a Shadow then what could their leader's weapon be like when in contact with his own skin? He shivered at the thought, pushing it to the back of his mind by forcing his legs to slide over the edge. Enough dilly-dallying. Restlessness is just too much to bear for one man alone.

Right as his feet met the sandy ground, the room tilted. It not only titled but spiraled. It rocked to and fro, reminding him of his wounds and the stiffness that unforgivingly ate at the heaviest bit of senses. _'For the love of Faron!'_ His palms immediately flew to the closest thing, a gigantic coral protruding right out of the wall like a bodily disfigurement. He cursed at its roughness, the thick fragments of the very coral cutting into his hands.

"I had a thought that you might leave on the second day." A voice piped up behind him. He let a sigh of sorts pass, shifting to the side of the coral but still keeping it as his support so as to properly face his sporadic visitor.

"Your majesty, Ra-…"

"You still need to rest." King Ralis crossed his scaly arms, the glistening little dots flashing within their multicolor tinge. Yet when Link didn't dare budge from his awkward position against the wall and the coral, the king unfolded his arms and sauntered toward the ever so stubborn Hylian. "Honestly, Link. I don't care if you're a Hero and whatnot. Your wounds are still in need of attention. They are even still holding that odd, black color. At least give it one more day's wait before you try to start moving around like this."

"No thank you." He hissed, waving at the Zora with a cut hand. "Even if I was on my deathbed, Hyrule can't wait another day. I'm all she's got as a protect-…"

"Exactly and that's why you should stay and rest ano-"

"No. I can't. I can't sit back and let the enemy get a step ahead of me like last time. Besides, I need to hurry. Two days I've been out of it…" he paused, finally releasing his death grip on the coral entirely only to lean further against the rocked wall, "which means two days for my enemy to be on the move, two days for Hyrule to fall farther into darkness, and two days for my friends to fall closer into danger. Not only that, but I need to get answers. I have too many questions about this new enemy. Goddesses, I barely even know the enemy! All I know is that… well, that's irrelevant, but you must get the importance, right?"

The fishy comrade stared him a moment. If looks of displeasure could kill, Ralis's certainly took the cake. "Your determination is just as I anticipated. You haven't changed since Hyrule's last conflict." With that he turned, his glistening back retreating just a few webbed-steps from the Hero, "I'd really like you to stay at least one more day, but all right then, if you so wish. Just be careful. If you need help in any way, shape, or form just remember that you are always welcome here. We will pray for your safety along whatever journey this new enemy sets for you." The young king reached the waterfall, giving the smallest of glances about his shoulder, "I will send servants to aid you as well as one to retrieve your equipment and stead. At least let us give your wounds one last dose of medicine before your leave."

**III**

The sandy earth burned his gaze, the sapphires narrowing at the very thing that he hated most. Deserts… a landscape of death and unforgivable notions. Not only that, but just the sight of it brought emotions—memories—that he had been keeping away for these past three years. Nevertheless he stepped forward, his boot sinking into the grainy ground as he trudged forward with sword in tow. These burdensome feelings could wait another year or so. In fact, he wouldn't mind if they waited for all eternity before popping back up when times were becoming encumbering.

The young Hero stopped a moment, readjusting the grip on the sword's hilt before proceeding. "Just head to the accursed prison, Link." His voice muttered above the faint desert breath of wind, bits of sand biting at his glistening skin. With tightened jaws he ascended the sand dunes, his eyes squinting against the bleeding sun. Yes, just head straight. Focus on the prison's distance. Focus on its eternal shape that seems to rebel against time itself.

Yes, the blasted structure hadn't changed since he had last visited it (three years ago on that final goodb-…)… memories should stay silent. Nevertheless, he looked on at what his gaze allowed him to witness. The prison was still decrepit yet it still stood. It still stood as proud and ominous as ever. Even its aura, from this distance, was the same. Darkening. Saddening. Anger at being forgotten.

Thrown away like a broken toy.

He wiped a gloved hand at his forehead, freeing his gaze of the endless sweat. With tired limbs did he stagger up the stairs, the only part of the prison that seemed troubled by time what with its cracks and weathered angles, the heavy gates staring down at him all the while. He stopped though, keeping a foot away from the very gates, their black facades reflecting him against the beaming sun.

"Gates?" He questioned, his reflection rippling as he shifted from nervous boot to nervous boot. "I don't remember…" yet he trailed, his reflection passing over the famous, triangular mark. It pulsed at him, golden light shining for just an instant against the redness of the sun overhead. For a moment did he stare at it. These gates were new… "It's for the best since the prison's convicts are all vengeful souls. The Sages wouldn't want the chance of them escaping or having some poor sap wondering in uninvited." Link sighed, finally stepping forward to place his marked hand upon the symbol.

It flashed brilliantly, golden pulse turning into an onslaught of white light as it streamed about him. In that second it gave a musical chime. That note encouraged the streams of light to fully envelope him, reaching out even farther than where he stood as if to reach helplessly for its escape from such a dark place when… it vanished. It poofed in that one moment as if it had never occurred, leaving nothing but a pulsing triangle to stare back up at the sky's lonely light. Not a Hero to be seen.

**III**

The light that hinders his eyes, dims. Not just that, but an invisible force pushes him forward, his hand smacking into something metallic. The object gives a protest of chain clinking, urging his sight to return. He gives a rapid blink, his marked hand curling about the metallic structure that he had fallen upon, the chains rattling in a louder fashion.

Ever so gently, so gradually, does his vision return that it takes him a moment to register what stands before him. What towers over him like a ghoulish monster, what eats away at his sanity with just a glance at its blackness. Upon realization does he back up, eyes widening at the stone that reaches high above him. Those pure, snowy chains just as white and crisp as before… and that deadly emotion that seemed to radiate from the one stone that acted as the Twilight Realm's portal seeming to radiate even stronger at his presence. He stepped further back, the recognition sparking up those memories once more…

_Crack!_

It spiraled around, sword ending up in both hands as he finally turned his back to the black stone of a portal. He stood there for a moment, eyes raking over the prison's top floor until they fell to his feet. "Mirror… shards…" he seemed to sigh, allowing his stance to relax as he let his gaze trail about at the shattered mess. With a regretful thought he leaned down, reaching out to the crushed shard that he had apparently stepped o-

_"The mirror cannot be repaired."_ Link jerks back up, sword hilt in both hands once again as his attention shifts to the sudden chorus of whispers. _"Still your blade Hero. We merely wish to tell you of the evident situation, the mirror cannot be repaired."_ For the second time he retreats a step, eyes narrowing at the six, delicate little figures that floated above him. All of them what with their identical, floating masks and flowing robes surrounded the stand that once held the mirror. They turned to him in unison, a musical chime whispering about them whenever they gave movement. One in particular stepped out amongst their little group, its shade of white seeming brighter than the rest as it folded its skinless arms, the palms floating apart from the sleeves.

"Sages," he relaxed, again, "I've journeyed from Ordona's province and seek your guidance." As he spoke, he leaned forward in a motion of a bow. "But I would like to know, will I be wasting my time by questioning Hyrule's Sages as well?"

_"We will answer as we can."_ The one that stepped out seemed to moan, its voice resembling that of a wise, decrepit man as it gave a faint gesture to the black stone behind the Hero. _"First, remember this. Chosen Hero of Hyrule, a forgotten legend has reawakened. He was cast off into the Twilight Realm, memories of his legacy banished from the land entirely. In such a realm he was left weakened and imprisoned under the Twili grounds for centuries."_ It continued with its voice, such a note of it crackling like old paper with the occasional slip of a syllable.

"I get that," he nodded with clear annoyance, "I mean, I'm aware of this fact, but I do not understand on why this exiled legend has reawakened."

_"We believe it to be by sense. Hero, you've been through much. You've seen much that not a Hyrulean or a mythical beast would ever dream of… your emotions run deeper than the deepest of oceans. Your troubled conscience must have stirred its soul. After all, this forgotten legend is a part of your lineage. Yet it is entirely different for it represents the Villain of Darkness. It feeds of any remnant of darkness."_

Link sheathed his sword, eyes still set on the sole Sage, "Then he was like me, a Hero… then that must mean that he has a marking of the Triforce also, right? Courage?"

_"Not entirely, Chosen Hero. It is the negative form of the Heroes of Time. It's inverted, upside down… a negative form of the Shard of Courage. The upside down symbol of the Triforce represents the Shard of Darkness. The entire Triforce represents this, only if inverted."_

"I thought that wasn't possible. How did he get it?"

_"It did it itself. If a holy being turns to darkness, their soul becomes corrupted. The Triforce reflects on the wielder's deepest desires… this it became inverted on this legend's palm. Ah, but that is not of true importance, for you see… it also created the Forbidden Power that you journeyed for three years prior, a creation of pure darkness that was also casted out into the Twilight Realm."_

"F-Forbidden Power?" He hissed in disbelief, "But why-"

_"The leader of the Twilis, their queen, locked it away long ago to the point where no soul except that of a light dweller can enter and touch it… one with a pure heart and mind."_

He seemed to a give a sigh of relief at that, praising his long lost companion for always thinking one step ahead for the future. "Good. Now, what about the Shadows and this legend? All three of them are me, aren't they?"

This time another Sage, resembling the others in their intensity of brightness than the one that stepped out, gave a gentle nod and spoke up, _"You are correct. Yet this being as well as its minions are decayed. Their bodies resemble their souls—black. The Shadows are of pure shadow while their master, Dark, is of shadow, flesh, and blood. He represents the counterpart, the other piece to your soul. When he turned against the light, his exile cost your line of Heroes dearly in both mind and body. His negative version of the Master Sword can kill you with just being grazed by the hilt. Its magical qualities are deadly and will degrade you. You have witnessed a minor situation by one of the Shadow's blades. Unlike theirs, this Dark Hero's blade will tear out your soul and eat at your heart and sanity."_

He shivered at the thought, his hands immediately going to the wounds that laced his body. They stung at the light touch, even through his attire. "That's why the Darkness is searching for me then, because we're counterparts?" The crowd of Sages gave a silent, grave nod, that little whispering chime reaching his pointed ears with the slightest of their movements. "All right, next. I'm not the only one in danger of this Dark fellow am I? What about Princess Zelda and the Twilight Princess?"

_"The answer cannot be said. We are unaware of their conditions. The Princess of these lands has a strong presence, her being is all right, but as you said… you are not the only one in danger. As for the Twilight Realm's queen. It is unknown even more so. With the mirror being shattered we are unable to assess the situation in that inverted realm."_

"But how did the Shadow Beasts and Shadows come here? How did they get out of that forsaken realm and kill all of my friends in Ordon?" He spat, pulling his hands away from the wounds and instead folding them against his chest. "How, if the mirror is repairable? There's no way."

_"We are… unsure."_

"What? Oh come on surely you Sa-" he froze, his breath ceasing immediately as his eyes fell to his stomach. The little black blade gleamed at him menacingly, its surface pulsing with shadows as it then receded out from him. "Gah!" He coughed, feeling the blade's matter already beginning to burn his past and present wounds already as a hand coiled about his shoulder. His body froze again, this time under this dark presence's aura. Daring a glance, he flinched to the misty figure that formed at his shoulder, a chin resting there as snowy eyes stared back at him.

"Master can do everything, can he not? Therefore, none of it matters. It never will… for he will rule of Hyrule and Twilight, under his will, and you will never be there to witness it." That raspy voice seemed to giggle as the shifting shadows of a face drew back, that hand at his shoulder shoving him forward. He cried out, the sudden force of that hand was something he didn't expect as he was completely thrown onto the ground, his cut palms being bitten again by the shards of the mirror.

Above him, on the ledge by the mirror's old, forgotten stand did the Sages pulse with the brightest of lights. Yet as their lightness expanded did the Shadow's darkness feed off those golden streams of light. Again, just as it had done in Lake Hylia. Its shadows killed the light and the makers with it before glowing blades could be formed in their hands. The tendrils shot out about it like a swarm of angry birds. They even spoke, little screams crashing against each other as they raced to the Sages and tangled with their very light.

The screaming got louder. More blood curling as the light itself vanished in an inky dust, just as Lanayru.

Shivering at the pain that racked his body, Link pushed himself back up on shaky legs. With a hopeful glance, he looked to where the Sages had once stood… but only the mirror stand met his gaze. _'No. No. No, dammit. Not again. Not. Again!' _He muttered a string of mental curse words, spinning around while drawing out his sword. Goddesses, the Shadow wasn't there. Anywhere for that matter.

"There is no way you will be able to save both Hyrule _and_ Twilight. After all, it's impossible to enter that Realm; therefore, we will return for eternity, come and go as we please." He was pulled back by his swords sheath, his back slamming into the black stone. He blinked, the Shadow appearing in front of him with that accursed sword raised over its head. The Hero turned, his head only inches from the blade that now stuck into the stone itself. Growling, annoyed at its rambling, he pushed at its chest but his fingers only slipped inside it once its skin began to shift and mist over to shadows. "Ugh." Link shivered once more, yanking his hands back just in time to block the next blow with his own blade.

The contact of the inverted blade on his made a hard light sparkle off his blade, its contact sound ringing angrily against his ears. The sound of it only increased, its set off light beginning to pulse in a darker form of blue as the Shadow's blade came closer to Link's own flesh. He strained, his arms threatening to shake, threatening to release the Master Sword, under such a pressure.

"This time there will be no one to save you, so called Hero of the Goddesses." It laughed, finally giving a final push against Link's sword. The Hero released his sword then, the sound becoming too much. That one little action allowed the Shadow to strike once more, ramming the sword through a wound it had started in Lake Hylia.

Link screamed, the inverted blade burning at his flesh. Just by its touch at that previous wound it felt as if the blade was eating him. Feasting on his flesh. Good Ordona, the pain. It strangled him. Made the world tilt, blur, and harden to nothing but coldness. Frantic he dared to push the Shadow away from him, his fingers slipping into its shadowy form once more…

But this time it flew backward, the blade no longer touching his flesh, and the world immediately lighting up in a bit of white color. The coldness retreated, replaced with warmth. Heat. Fire. He flinched, jumping forward at the realization. His wounds weren't the only thing but his back was just as well. _'Shit. What now!'_ His mind cursed, pained eyes snapping to the black stone as the chains that wrapped it vanished.

About the stone, minute squares materialized, and invisible runes carved their way against the stone's face. It gave a mass of incoherent whispers as the runs were pulled back in the gut of the stone, the hue of white touching the floating squares that spiraled heavily about it in replace of the chains. In just that moment the wind shot up, blowing at the shards of mirror and the bits of dust that littered the floor beneath him. His muffled voice, mouth and eyes now covered by his uninjured arm, cried out against the sporadic event yet still he stood.

Even when the whispering of the black stone, the wind, and the bright hue vanished just like the snake of Hylia and the Sages of Hyrule. Just like that as if it had never happened. Nothing but silence. Nothing but…

He pulled is arm away, tightening his grip on the hilt of the sword as he looked for the Shadow. Whatever that was would have to wait. The blasted Shadow was more important. Yet he froze once more, his mouth falling open despite the hazy air about him. For as he looked on the ledge, expecting the Shadow, he saw a different figure. This little creature, with such a confident little smirk on its features, leaned up against the mirror stand; the broken mirror shards floating just a few inches above the stand's rims. Its fiery hair pulsated as did the intricate, green markings that were etched in its minute frame.

"Mmmm…" he tried, unable to believe his eyes as he reached with a freehand to rub them away from such a heartbreaking hallucination. Even so, the little imp didn't disappear. No, the imp's smile just grew as it hop-skipped in midair toward him, twiggy arms reaching out to hug his chest for a second's passing before it drew back entirely as if to see him properly.

"Who else could it be?" That musical laugh sounded off, bringing back those memories of three years past. The imp smiled even more so, a hand resting on a pointed hip while the other scratched at a sharp, elongated Hylian ear. "Ah, but I guess it is unexpected. I couldn't help but not come to your realm. Dark…" it glanced away, smile faltering for a moment, "took away my kingdom and cast his Darkness upon it. My people and I have suffered. They are back to being cursed monsters while I… I'm a broken thing again. A little imp." As it turned its head, the smile and laughter returning, it gave a sigh of sorts. "Sorry about not writing you or something, but trust me when I say this… I used up the majority of my people's magic by coming here. I only had a bit of it left and might just have enough to go back to my realm but… you and I are not ready for such a task. Not yet. Dark is too strong. He'd end you and this realm right on the spot," a frown, "So Hero of Time, what should we do?"

Link couldn't help but laugh at her casualness. She hadn't even batted an eye on the fresh wounds and blood that stained his famous tunic. Midna hadn't changed. However, his laugh died as he again went to glance about him. If Midna was here then he would definitely need to defeat that blasted Shadow here and now.

"Come on, wolf puppy. The Shadow's gone for now. I sent it back to the Twilight Realm since the portal was open for a moment." She winked a crimson eye, her yellowish eyes taking on a mischievous glint with such a statement. "Now, do you have a plan, Hero?"

Refraining from giving a sigh of relief, he instead replied with a nod. "Yes. I—we—need to have an audience with Princess Zelda. Now that I know that you're all right, I need to make sure that Zel is just as safe."

"Zelda! Oh I hope Dark Link and his Shadows haven't gotten to her yet! Link, we must hurry before it's too late!"

_'Dark… Link?'_ He gave an abrupt shake of his head, ridding his mind of useless thoughts. "Can you warp us?"

The Twilian imp hummed at this, literally hummed as she gave a bit of a shrug. "Possible, but you will be resorted to your wolf form again since it is, after all, your representation of a dweller of darkness. Uh, but I don't have the Cursed Stone gifted to us from Zant. It vanished when the mirror shattered."

_'By foot then. It's the only way.' _He gave a regretful nod, smiling only slightly now, "That's all right. We'll just need to hurry. Epona is back in Hylia. We can make it before the sun sets which isn't soon. I'm praying that Zel is all right and, if so, maybe she'll know a way to defeat Dark and his followers."

* * *

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-Listening to 20 Years by Placebo while editing 3**

**-I cut out the scenes with a different Zora and having Link stay another day at the Zora Domain (it just didn't seem "Link enough", haha).**

**-The conversation with the Sages and the confrontation with Link and the Shadow sucked before re-editing began... it was so bleepin' weak o-o and Midna's arrival sucked too, it was just so... dead? Yeah, I guess that works.**

**-7 Pages for you!**


	6. Chapter 5

**This one will be a wee bit short, but still please Review :3**

**I apologize for any grammar catastrophes and such... oh goodness, I do hope this wasn't too abrupt or something? Gah!**

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**-Chapter 5-**

_********__**This Chapter have been re-edited (4-19-13)**_

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The clouds shook with devastation, the cold rain slapping against the facades of Hyrule's beloved Castle Town. It stuck out against the fields like a sore thumb, its minute walls doing little to hide as well as protect the massive structure of the castle that it gravely surrounded.

Snowy eyes glinted at the sight of it, ignoring the icing rain that bit at its shadowy skin. The Shadow shifted, stifling a malicious grin to grace its lips. At its sides swayed two Shadow Beasts, their moans urging it him to continue forward… the little killers hungry for that of fresh blood. It laughed at the though. Such a wonderful notion that it was, it was beautiful. Yet they dared to ruin it what with their stupid little voices, "Chosen One… Chosen One." They set on again with their whispery chant. Ah, so their hunger was for holy blood then? Annoyed at being reminded of its failure, twice now, it stepped forward upon the emerald, grassy fields. As its boot stepped upon the earth, the grass yellowed and wilted.

"Shut up." It barked, their chanting and moaning quickly silencing with just a weak demand as that, their masked faces with those Twilian runes turning to face it. "We have a different task to deal with right now." This time it allowed the grin to unfold at its lips, "Our orders are to pay the Princess of Hyrule a little visit. Just a mere visit. Harmless little thing." It chuckles, continuing at a bit of a faster pace. "Then again, I might let you go and eat the Chosen One, only if he arrives in time that is."

**III**

The soulless scream cloaks the town, the rain coming down harder as the screams grow louder with each drowning second. It shakes the foundations, stirring the people of Hyrule to their feet once more screams join in… human-like shrieks that die out as if silenced by force. The clouds overhead crash with thunder as the blood from the west gates pools over to the town square, crimson tinting the white, stone walk with just a mere wash of rain water.

Then come the Shadow Beasts, their silver masks coated with blood of deceased guards. Their tentacles tangling madly at the blood, at the sight and smell of it all. Then comes the uproar. The screams of the fleeing, the ones wallowing in fear as they run… but they never make it before being rammed into the ground or grabbed by a grotesque, black hand of the Beasts.

Only as the blood amidst the town square grows darker, the screams of the townspeople dimming, do the soldiers of Hyrule run from the castle steps. They yell, determination directed to the shadowing man that trails ahead of these Beasts, daring to go against the Royal Family by walking up the stairs.

Frightened soldiers as they are, they stop at the mid part of the stairs. Shaking in their poor excuse of armor. This man is entirely made of shadow. Even wispy tendrils trail from his back by his pace, his snowy eyes devoid and devastatingly eternal. Then there's the crimson waters that cover the ground behind it. That bright color beaming back at them.

"S-Stop!" A shivering soldier demands, raising a trembling spear. Yet this stranger only laughs. Even this laugh is abnormal. Like pin needles stabbing through flesh. Like blades gutting a defenseless dear. Nothing but malice and death. Dry. Dark.

"Hyrule's very own soldiers?" It questions, still holding that note of laughter as it stops for a moment to gaze over the idiotic guards, "Pathetic excuse for enforcement. Ah, but I must say… I love what you've let the place come to," it gestures behind it to the blood smeared walls, the dying screams, and the stained grounds. "Now do be kind enough to allow me an audience with the Princess. Otherwise, you might just end up like the owners of all those delectable rubies."

**III**

Link jumps off Epona, nearly stumbling down the steps to the massive wooden gates. Right when he presses against him does he sense it. The thick presence of death. Gasping, he glances down, his hands slacking slightly at pushing the gates. "B-blood?" He mutters in disbelief, finding it pooling underneath his boots. "Oh know." With that he pushes the door open, running in only to slip on an endless puddle of blood. He falls, blood immediately clinging to his body as he crashes into a tainted building.

His eyes widen even further, his face nearly inches from a skeletal frame with nothing but a Hyrulean helmet attached to its head, as he leans back from his uncomfortable position on the ground. Frantically he pushes himself back up, shivering in disgust at the sight of gore that lingers about the pathways. The sight of skeletal, full, and half-eaten corpses… the-

"Link, hurry. We don't have time!" Midna's voice shrieks from his shadow, her voice bringing his gaze back up to the castle in remembrance.

"I-I kn-know that!" He wheezed, his stomach threatening to turn inside out on him from the very sight and scent of it all.

Oh the scent was terrible. How it coiled about him, choking him. It smelled like month old decay and rust. Coppery and hot even. Then the sight of the bodies? How mangled and in pain they looked, how their glazed eyes and open mouths stayed in a frozen position... ever pleading for mercy. "I know." He whispered, leaning against the only wall in the area that wasn't coated with blood. "I know."

**III**

Zelda looks up from the pristine red carpet, her princess-y throne coated in honorable blood of a fallen soldier that is now crumpled at the foot of it. She eyes the Shadow defiantly, ignoring the Shadow Beasts that chant her name at its side. Running a hand through her dirty blond hair, she manages a glance to her one and only sword. The wee weapon had been easily knocked out by the Shadow, her guards killed as if they were nothing but mere dolls. Now it was just the Shadow, the Beasts, her, and the blood splattered floors. Even the red carpet did little to hide the different shade of scarlet from man.

"I demand that you name yourself at once. Why have you done this?" She demanded, her eyes alight with fire. Unlike her people, she didn't show an ounce of fear. Nothing but anger. Oh how that annoyed the Shadow.

"I am a mere figment, a Shadow, of the forgotten Legend of Twilight." It managed a grin, refraining from showing this Hylian its annoyance to her angered demeanor. It really would have preferred fear of some sort. Perhaps the kind that liked to grovel at its feet for mercy and such.

"Never heard of such a legend." She barked, her gloved fingers curling into little fists.

"Not a surprise my princess. Master was cast into the Twilight Realm when everyone's memories were erased from this wretched land of his presence. It's quite tragic, really." That grin widened. Darkened even as it climbed farther up its face.

"Why have you done this?"

"Simple. This land will be covered in darkness for all time. Such a land; however, will not require you as its princess or its future queen."

"And why," she barked once more, her tone rising and cracking just a bit from… fear? "is that?"

The smile grew farther at the realization. She was afraid. Extremely. "Because, my princess, you are now overthrown." It draws its sword from its own darkness, extending it to her eyelevel. "Good day my princess." It chuckles now, ready to thrust right into her stupid little head. Through those wretched eyes that stare back at him, trying their best to hide the fear that only rides in her throne. Yet before it can muster at pulling the blade back for effect, the Hero of Time rushes in with a war cry, sword raised.

"Zelda!" He cries out, skidding to a stop right when the two Shadow Beasts turn away from the princess to the being that interrupted their comrade's little party.

Leaving an exasperated sigh, it allows its sword to fall slightly before glancing over its shoulder to glare at the Hero. "Well if it isn't the Hero of Time. Come so save your beloved princess?" It jeers, that grin appearing back on its disgusting mouth, "I would more than love to see you try, boy. You can never stop the Twilight Legend. You are simply no match. You. Will. Die."

Link dodges a mighty swing from a Shadow Beast, rolling around it before stumbling up to Zelda, shielding her with his back. He growls at the Shadow, ignoring the townspeople's blood that bites at his wounds. "Screw you, Shadow. I'm the Hero of Time. The Chosen One. I will not be defeated by the likes of your "master" so easily!"

The Shadow only laughs at this, leaning forward slightly as if to further express its amusement. "Oh goodness, this is very amusing. Quite humorous, honest. Nevertheless, you are wasting my time. Now… get out of my way!" It roars, lifting its freehand up and swiping it behind him. In that one gesture Link is literally thrown to the side by an invisible force. He hits the marble floor, his sword knocked out of his grasp in the process. Yet he stands back up only to be knocked down again, this time by a Shadow Beast's black, meaty arm. It bashes into his skull, blurring his vision as he again crumples to the floor.

Right on the spot, Midna forms out of his shadow and shields her companion from the Shadow Beast that instantly retreats a few steps at her surprise appearance. Her fiery braids, no longer covered by her broken crown, obscure bits of her vision from the Shadow but such a thing does little to keep her from glaring. From hissing.

"Queen Midna, how nice of you to join us." Her glare darkens, the irises seeming to take on a stronger hue of burgundy.

"Tell your master that he will pay for what he has done! This suffering will end, for both realms!" She shrilled, floating over Link's body as she glanced between the Shadow and her cursed Twili denizens who started their usual chant of "Chosen One."

"Haha! Oh the humor today is just extravagant, honest! Oh but your majesty, please do tell, who's going to do that? Your Light Dweller friend, the Hero of Time? Ha! He'll die if he even thinks on stepping a foot or thinking about stepping a foot into the Twilight. Master will end his life in the middle of a heartbeat." It chuckled dryly, extending its sword back to Zelda's eyelevel. "But enough of this. Enough of these Goddess awful interruptions. Beasts kill them. Leave nothing of their remains to-"

"No, I will not let you harm them!" The princess speaks up as she quickly steps toward the duo, her arm outstretched toward them with her marked hand. With just this gesture her hand becomes enveloped by golden light, that very light spiraling like a turntable toward the Hero and his companion in under a second. It pulses once, twice, and surrounds them like a protective ring. Then the wind picks up, Midna's eyes showing understanding. "But Zelda, we can't just leave you!" Albiet, her voice trails off to a deafening woosh right as the wind picks up only to die and along with it, leaving nothing but a stained, marble floor.

For a silent spell the Shadow stares at that naked spot, its white eyes only seeing bloody splatters. No sight of a hero in green garb or an overthrown Twili. _'Master will surely kill me now. I lost my chance, a third time!'_ Its eyes snap back to the princess, its wicked grin all but gone now. "I will have a pleasurable time killing you, my princess. I'll make sure to do it slowly so that you may enjoy it as well. Taking my sweet time to gut you and pull out your heart and soul!"

* * *

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-Useless crap was cut out and more detail was added. LoZ games are usually up to a rating of T in video gaming so I'd like to keep this rated T (reason I didn't give complex details of the corpses X3 ).**

**-I figure, despite what Link has seen... death would still be a heavy topic for him. I wanted touch that thought a bit with the Castle Town part where he walked in on all that. Hope I did it justice?**

**-4 Pages**


	7. Chapter 6

***dies* So much editing o-o**

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**-Chapter6-**

******__****This Chapter have been re-edited (4-19-13)**

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Sapphire eyes, a definite contrast against the blood stained skin, flicker open to the dry skies overhead. The heated, rocky scent of Kakariko caressing his senses. The calming waters beneath him of the village's spring a comforting. In that perspective, he closes his eyes again, but then sits up in a frenzy, his eyes snapping open in memorization. "Zelda!" He breathes, getting himself up from the spring to look about him in worry. Perhaps holding a bit of hope that she transported herself with them.

_"Chosen Hero of Hyrule,"_ he freezes, regrettably looking to the golden orb that bobs up above the spring, its light pulsating underneath his worried gaze, _"who takes shape as a blue-eyed beast in Twilight, my brothers are dying out… their light becoming choked out by the Twilight Legend's darkness. Such a shade it is that it even chokes these lands with a heavy blanket, even as you hear my words."_

"But what am I supposed to do!" He snapped, flailing his arms about and instantly regretting it, the wounds attached to his flesh reminding him with a burn of pain. "I couldn't even save Zel!"

_"Hush, Hero. Just listen to my words and return to the Sacred Grove where you crossed paths with the guardian, a lost child, and the confines where you acquired the Master Sword. Speak to the Guardian Statues that come to life from the howl of your blue-eyed beast. Hurry Chosen Hero before this darkness interferes with your journey to the point of no return, no restart. You must go now before it's too late. You will find a way to shape your being to that of a wolf once you arrive in Ordona's province. Go, before my light dies out for I am growing weaker as I speak."_

"But Zelda…"

_"Go! Do not question. Do not stray. Do. Not. Falter. Now leave and head to the Sacred Grove!"_

Link somehow manages a nod, shocked by Eldin's raised voice as its light orb falls back into the depths of the spring. He had never heard a light spirit speak in such a demanding way… it's as if… his eyes settle onto the crumpled form at the spring's edge. Its fiery strands flying limply in the slight village breeze. "Midna?" He calls worriedly, ignoring the odd fact that his horse is right there at her side, nudging the imp with her head. How she—Epona- got transported, he would never know.

He crouches at Midna's side, nudging her with a casual hand. Immediately upon his touch the Twilian imp opens a groggy eye, another following as she stares up at him. Her crimson, yellow eyes puffy with tears. With a brisk hand she wipes at the tears, floating upward to a sitting position before properly looking at the young Hero. Her frantic look silences, a glare replacing it with evident ease, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" She shrieks the question, showing her pointed tooth in a grimace.

"N-no…?" He answers, scooting a few inches back when she floats closer to him.

"That was a stupid, stupid move you did back there! We could have saved Zelda but instead you get yourself knocked out!" She snaps, grabbing his bad arm with her delicate hands and jerking it around like an abrupt handshake.

He hisses, yanking his injured arm free only to hold it protectively to his chest, "I'm sorry Midna," he snaps back, "I was only doing…" he trails, flinching at the extreme measures that her glare it growing too, the irises taking on a darkened color of red.

"You were only doing what you know! Running in and acting all Hero-y. Not thinking before you act!"

"I'm a Hero, Midna. A Hero! I have no choice but to run in and act without thinking. It's my job, all right? If I didn't do that-"

"You are getting a big head! Swinging around a fancy sword does not make you a Hero, Link."

"Who said anything about that making me a Hero? You could have stopped her from sending us here!"

Her mouth falls open at this, her glare faltering just like that. She quickly spins around, back to friend. "Y-you're right…" she mutters yet loud enough for him to hear. "I'm just… scared. I don't know what to do. I mean, there's no remnants to find to go to my world. This Dark fellow isn't like a Twili or an infamous Chosen One like that Ganondorf guy. No, he's like your legends. He was a Hero, or so I registered with his identical features to you. The only difference was the color. I'm sorry." She turned around then, hands wiping again at her eyes to keep the tears at bay, "I'm sorry, Link. I didn't mean to take it out on you. I'm just worried. What will we do?"

He took on an encouraging smile, grasping her thin little arms in his grasp so as to retrieve her attention. "That's all right. I kind of figured you were doing so… and I am too, trust me. I'm a bit afraid myself, but of course a Hero can never say that aloud. Otherwise, where would all the hope that the people have go to when they find out that their beloved Hero is just as scared? I'm not only scared but worried. I'm regretting meeting this counterpart of mine. I'm regretting to find out that Zelda was… you know."

Link let go of her arms, turning to tend to his horse instead. "But I do know what to do. We need to go to the Sacred Grove. Eldin spoke to me when I woke up. We'll head there and then go wherever that leads us to, I'm sure the Guardian Statues have some way to help us beat this enemy." He climbs up Epona's back, grasping her reins in his good hand before adjusting his gaze back to his Twilian friend. "We'll get through this. No matter what."

**III**

The sky's dying light barely peeks in amidst the forgotten forest, the canopy much too thick yet thin enough to make it easy to see the desolate pathway. Unlike last time, the trees are not as healthy. No, they've become golden with just a bit of emerald green shining here and there. Not just that, but even the torches and stone pillar that held an ancient song of the Lost Woods were faded, eroded from time itself.

Even now, the silence was deafening. Just like the first time he had wandered in here. Silent and peaceful, a world untouched by all things negative. Sinful.

He ran a hand over the stone, an object that had been his best friend dear the Year of Twilight. Now it was a useless little thing, the symbols of music no longer legible. It didn't even whistle the tune as it had done years ago when he had needed its aid. No, it just sat there in its little solitude. Forgotten and devoured by twirling, crude vines of orange.

Giving forth a sigh, he looked to the snowy trees about him. The Sacred Grove… allowing himself to relax some, he stashed away his hookshot and again looked about him. "Skull Kid?" He called, remembering the lost child that he had played "games" with just to be able to retrieve the blasted Master Sword and enter the Temple of Time.

"Hahahahahaaaeeehe." A childish little tune giggled back at him, reflecting all about the little realm of sacred trees as the wind spiked up a bit. The cold air bit at his wounds, but he only tightened in posture before snapping his attention to the child that appeared at the nearest tree. It hopped about the tree's base, grinning at him as took a few steps toward him. It shook its little lantern a bit with each step, its giant hat slipping over its void-like eyes as its grin took on a darker edge. "I don't want to play a game today. I'm much too sleepy." It giggled before throwing a leafy gesture toward the pathway at the other end of the little forest realm. He looked that way, his eyes lifting away from Skull Kid only for a moment and as he returned his gaze did he realize the child's absence.

_'Not that I'm complaining.' _He thought, stifling the desire to sight with relief. Honestly, he didn't think he would be able to go through that again, not when time was of the essence. Glad for not having to deal with the lost child's games for once, Link ambled his way to the other end of the forest to the next path way.

His boots crunch heavily against the stone floor, brushing bits of fallen leaves. He passes under the archway, eyeing the waterfall of vines that lead up to the domain of the Guardian Statues. Tensing his body in anticipation of the pain, he climbs up the wall. Sure enough the pain sky rockets, eating away at his nerves. He only cringes, resisting the cry that burns his throat only continue the majority of the climb up the wall.

He clings to the edge, rolling himself over only for the cry to force its way out, Midna quickly forming out of his shadow to aid him. "Link?" She questions, eyes wide with worry.

"I'm fine, Midna." He responds in a rather curt manner, groaning as he pushes himself up on shaky feet. "Goddesses." He curses, hissing as he trudges farther into the second archway. "Gah, come on. We're almost there."

"But Link…" she trails, floating after him only to end up siding him as her companion focuses on the statues before them. "It seems three years can do a lot of damage to stuff, huh? That one to the left doesn't even have a head. Poor guy." She comments, giggling as she directs his attention momentarily to that very statue.

Sure enough, the statues show age. The moss darker than last, rust coating the once gold features like a disease. Even vines coil up their pale bodies, threatening to eat them whole just like the Howling Stone. The spiral about, splaying like a series of cracks against the snowy appearance of the Guardians.

Link's sky eyes settle on the mark beneath them, the once vibrant Triforce symbol now nothing but an outline of yellow and black. Its color long gone from weather and time itself just as well. "Yeah. Depressing." He muttered, flinching at a bit of pain that pulled at his nerves.

"How do you think we talk to them?" She questions, leaning against his good shoulder.

"Not sure. They always talked about me calling them to life or something with that song I used to howl. The bad thing about that is, I can't turn into a wolf anymore. He sighs, walking farther onto the symbol sliced into the ground.

"True, true. Hey! Maybe if we wer-…" she trails off, gasping at the sudden burst of light that erupts forth from the Triforce marking below Link's very own boots. It tangles out, coiling about his body in a series of multi-colored beams. Right away it grows brighter, taking on a hue of sky-like gold. "L-Link?" She calls, floating back in both caution and curiosity as she watches her friend begin to dissipate amongst the blue light. "Link!" She reaches out for him, her fingers burning against the light that quickly vanishes, leaving her to settle in struck solitude.

"Link? Link!" She floats about, spiraling madly in a confused frenzy.

**III**

In only a second the light appeared, it vanishes. Having had to resort to shieling his eyes from the light, he drops his good arm once again only to find the greenest bit of field he had ever set eyes on expand before him. It stretches out as far as they eye could allow sight. Yet that wasn't the only odd thing, from what he could see from the endless see of grass… nothing but grass except a lone, metallic spear that stretched to the skies, high above his head. It breathed with a light blue hue, its golden hilt pointed up to the skies while its tip was evidentially lost in the field's depths. Even the skies were a bit odd, an endless orange. "What…" he whispers, his voice echoing in the strange bit of surroundings, "what is this? What's going on?"

A light bark is the only response he gets. Startled, he turns around only to fumble backward in the process. A wolf, its crystal, blue eyes brimming with wisdom, pants before him. Its translucent skin rippling with each little wag of its tail as it takes a curious step toward him. Its fur begins to take on a faint bit of gray shading, a black Triforce mark shining on its paw.

_"You've returned, you acquire my assistance then, after three years?"_ A voice whispers, taking on a hollow and faraway tone.

Link glances around him in a nervous fashion before hesitantly replying, "D-Did you just speak to me?" He asks as he gestures to himself. Surely he was going crazy now.

_ "You've returned for my assistance?"_ The voice whispers the question once more with that same eerie note.

"Y-yes. By the way, what is this place? W-Where in the land of Hyrule am I?"

_"Where and what? Simply nowhere."_

"Um, all right. What about this: why am I here? Where is this place?" He tried with a different question, warily looking away from the wolf to assess his surroundings once more.

_"You just said you required my assistance. Did you not?"_

"Yeah, but who am I needing assistance for and what am I doing here for?"

_"You need to re-obtain what you lost, your legendary form of the blue-eyed beast when tainted with Twilight's curtain. I have been waiting for you for some time. Once you stepped foot onto the symbol of the Triforce you were sent to sleep. Your ability to turn into the blue-eyed beast was never completely gone for it is in your blood from the Heroes of old. However, once the thing that connected you to that form vanished from the Light Dwelling lands you lost the strength of that ability to freely turn into that form. Do you understand?"_

"Uh…" Link pauses, returning his gaze to the wolf, "I believe so?"

_"We are able to connect from the Triforce. Now, fulfill your duty as the Hero of Time and take back this world that is being corrupted by Twilight's curtain once more."_

The wolf stands up, not breaking its gaze from the young Hero as it slowly maneuvers toward him. Warily Link takes a list of steps back, ready to fight this thing if need be. "Uh…" but before he can even utter another word the wolf lunges. He flails his arms up, crying out in surprise as he gets thrown backward. Around him the field quickly cracks, crumbling with human screams, or perhaps the screams were just his own.

**III**

Midna's voice drags him back to reality. Her musical voice giggling, muttering something like, "wolf puppy." He gives a string of mental curses, turning about on his stomach in an unwilling manner. Sleep would be so nice right now… but… Hyrule was in danger.

He flinches at the throbbing touch that brushes his wounds right when he stands, his eyes flicking about the realm of the statues only to freeze on his companion. He stares at her a moment, sure that he had indeed stood up now. If he was right and he had stood up then, well, he had never seen her float up so high before… not that he could remember. He shrugged it off, turning to look back at the statues only to hold his gaze once more.

'_Ground is much closer, everything is in hues of blue, purple, gray, and black, and furry legs with a broken shackle hanging from a paw…'_ He lifts up the paw with the dangling shackle, examining it further and testing its scent to make sure that all of this wasn't another canard of his truly exhausted mind. The scent of oil and hay, the scent of the shackle, told him otherwise. Good, he wasn't going crazy. At least not anytime soon.

"That scared me. When that bright light happened, you weren't anywhere to be seen for a while until finally that light came back and here you were, in wolf form." Midna admitted somewhere above him, pulling his attention away from the shackled paw. He looked up to find her floating right at his eyelevel. Her grin was obvious, she had wanted to see him in wolf form again. The little rat probably missed using and abusing him like a horse.

"Well, looks like we can talk to the statues now. Do you remember the song?" She turned, gesturing to the two statues across from them.

He turned slightly, facing them before giving a brisk nod. Did he? Of course he did! He couldn't help but not remember them. _'But can I howl them properly?'_ His mental side shrugged in response at that thought. Oh well, anything was better than nothing. If it was horrible, maybe it would still wake up the statues.

Pulling his furry, black head back and allowing his throbbing body to relax, he sang. His notes towered over the Sacred Grove, strangling it with tranquility that it had been missing for three years. In each note that reverberated, the forest itself seemed to sigh with breath. Oddly, the color of age seemed to recede in a gradual manner. The leaves of the trees less gold and orange-like, the statues looking a bit more as they had the first time they had come about this sacred place.

The song flooded out of him, pulling at the memories that he had been keeping at bay for such a time. All that emotion, let out underneath one song. When it finally ended, he still stared up to the canopy overhead. His blue eyes slowly opening to allow in the limited sunlight. At a slow pace he draws his head back to its position, the world about the two now nothing but darkness with just bits of levitating earth and two golden statues. Golden statues with ribbons of light blue representing that of veins stood without a look of decay.

"_Sacred blue-eyed beast who takes shape as man and who sings for our aid, we are guardians of this land."_ Their voices hum in a hollow manner, their identical eyes flashing with each passing syllable. _"You have travelled a distance, encountering the onslaught of the beckoning Darkness, and have even survived its attempt at ending the line of hope. You have obtained your sacred form as a beast and have continued to seek aid. We yield passage to the sacred place, the Sacred Grove."_ Their hums fell to a series of whispers, their eyes giving one finally flash before the little world about the company deceased, fading in a transition to the "sacred place's" entrance, but before the statues returned to their aged state they lifted their spears, ones that reminded Link of the spear in his dream world with the wolf, and jabbed them into the earth.

Their surroundings became normal once more, the golden statues now vine covered, rusted, mossy, pale statues as before, the doorway at their back sliding open with a heavy click.

"Wait. Isn't the only thing in there a pedestal for the Master Sword?" Midna questioned, floating after Link's wolfy body as he trotted past the statues. He gives a faint nod for he had pondered over the same thing. There was nothing in there except the Master Sword. Why in the world would Eldin insist returning here and the Guardian Statues insist on moving forward to such a room? "Well, it's the only thing we've got, right?" She continued, speaking his mind.

**III**

"The order, I hear, has been finished master." The shadow responds with a sweeping bow.

Its master, Dark, glances up from its precarious perch atop the Twilian throne. He lets a grin slip past his lips momentarily before adjusting his sitting position, sweeping his legs away from the arm of the throne so as to sit in a more proper manner. "Good." He chuckles, clapping his hands in expressive delight, "Now we just need to get rid of that Hero of theirs." He stands up then, spinning about with that sick little smile returning, "And when that time comes, Hyrule will fall to her knees."

"Yes, of course, master. At that time, she will also be graced with a new ruler."

He gives a nod, making his way down the steps with that smile still in place. "But that can only happen if that worthless Shadow does its task. Speaking of which, where is the cursed little figment?"

"It is on the Hero's trail as we speak."

"Haha, excellent! That boy won't know what hit him."

**III**

"Nothing here except a pedestal for an old sword." Midna sighed, brushing a finger against the Triforce symbol etched on the very pedestal that she had stated.

Link gives a nod, his eyes focusing on his paws in honest curiosity. _'We'll get nowhere if I stay in this form… so I wonder, can I return to my prior form?' _He sighs as he crouches down. '_Worth a try. Just have to concentrate.'_ He closes his eyes, ignoring Midna's random chatter for that one little moment. His wounds take on a new level of pain as his bones fall into a chorus of chattering on their own, groaning and poping as they split and fall back into their humanoid structure once more. He howls out against the pain, his claws digging into the ground for dear life as his fur literally melts away from his human's flesh. "Grrrraaah!" His voice breaks, falling into that of his normal voice. Frantically his beast's senses die off one by one, his hearing and sense of smell dimming down to nothing but a little acknowledgement. The force of it all sending him on his back as his eyes then snap open, the colorful vision back in order. _'Goddesses, not doing that again for a while until these wounds heal.' _

"Oh, you turned back? Good. Come here." Midna says, glancing up from the pedestal for a moment to stare at her with her buggy eyes.

"What?" Link forces a sigh as he pushes himself up, flinching against the increase of pain as he heads to her side.

"Put your sword in it. Maybe it's supposed to do something." She says as she hops backward and gestures to the pedestal. Nodding in silent agreement Link unsheathes his blade. It glistens briefly before entering the pedestal, making a satisfying _shing_ chime as its tip interpolates with the pedestal's mouth.

With a short burst of light and a surprisingly forceful wave of wind the sword is lifted ever so slightly as a green, glowing light shoots to the sky. Right where the light pierces the clouds above a misty Triforce appears and shines a kind of eerie, golden light downward into the Sacred Grove.

Feeling heat form at his hand, Link looks to his marked palm only to find it react with a sort of uncontrollable shaking fit, the Triforce marking glowing. Acting as if it holds a mind of its own, his hand reached for the Master Sword and takes hold from the handle's top.

The sword glows even brighter, the light from the sky acting in unison. Right as his marked hand takes hold of the sword's hilt, he cries out against it. Willing it to release him right then and there. His hand _burned_. No, his whole body burned. Throbbed as if he had been dunked in a frozen lake. It felt, in a way, like his skin was melting much like it felt when he turned from wolf to man and back. It felt as if his head was being split in two. A sudden wave of wind shoves him backward and almost instantly as he does so the light vanishes and the sword slips back into the pedestal once more.

"Link? Link!" Midna shouts in obvious worry as she hops to his chest, brushing her hands against his neck for a pulse, paranoia urging her, "What just happened?" She asks as she grasps his stained tunic's collar and proceeds to shake him, although it's fairly hard because of her little hands.

He only responds with incoherent mumbles as his eyes stare blankly at the canopy above them, his face devoid.

After effortlessly trying to rouse him out of his daze Midna plops down beside him and manages a shaky breath. As if her sigh was enough to wake him, he jolts up to a sitting position and cries out. Startled, she flies forward, away from him, in response.

"W-what? Where… I-I just had a bunch of dreams a-all at once." He gasps as he glances around, applying a hand to his forehead to silence his rambling thoughts. "And none of them made sense. I-It was like I-I was seeing the Master Sword's history and Hyrule's creation. I even saw a glimpse of Dark." He shivered, the dream memories already fading just like any other dream.

"So what, that's what's supposed to help us?" She questioned, siding him once again.

"Well, there is a door over there that wasn't there before." He gives a shrug, biting his lip at the burst of pain that resides in that one action as he gestures past the Master Sword and its pedestal.

He slowly stands up, only to fall back to his behind… the pain from the wounds were getting worse every passing hour. Whatever the Master Sword had let him see had apparently encouraged them to get even more worse than before… it was unnerving how the pain was eating away at his strength. "Still feel kind of shaky I guess, wiped me out pretty good." He faintly laughs as he pushes himself off the ground once more. This time he is able to stand properly yet not at all without the presence of pain.

"As long as you're all right. That's about the fifth time you've scared me today. Please refrain from doing it again. I thought it had killed you or something. You didn't have a pulse for a moment there, you know? Now let's go see what's there to assist us in this journey." Midna smirks, materializing into his shadow with a genuine giggle.

Sighing, he heads over to the Master Sword, gripping its handle and bracing himself for the effort of releasing it from its confounded pedestal.

"Well, well. So we meet again, Hero." A familiar raspy voice chokes out, making painful shivers stagger up his back. Link turns around, his good hand uselessly trying to free the sword from its confines, but as what he encountered in Hyrule's castle, he was thrown to the side with a mere wave of the Shadow's hand.

His back connected with the ground at a harsh angle, his shoulder protesting with a loud pop. Link cried out, gasping at the added pain as his senses focused on the Shadow's oncoming footsteps. "I hope you don't mind that I disturbed your little moment of finding this assistance of some sort?" It chuckles, that invisible force as before pinning Link further into the ground. "Ah… what's this? _Your_ Master Sword? Oooh, I must get a better look at this."

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**Fun Fact(s):**

**-8 Pages**

**-Teehee... this had an innuendo in it o3o **

**-That spear thing in Link's "Dream World of a Field and the Wolf" represents the Guardian Statues' promise that they will answer his call when he sings the song in his wolf form. The field is like his conscience or determination or something, whatever you like best really XD**

**-Interpolated: basically means to "insert"**

**-Canard: unfounded rumor or story, fake**

**-It's almost 1AM and I've been having 3-4 hours of sleep all week so I'm freak awful tired... g'night... that's enough editing for one night O-O**


	8. Chapter 7

**Teehee, here's some action for ya... and a bit of a cliff-hanger :3**

**Almost done with these re-edited chapters! **

**I dunno 'bout you guys but I love the little Shadows! I could just hug them to death even if they turn into little wisps of shadow on me (I'll find a way ouo).**

**Please do leave a Review. Even if it's negative. How else am I to progress?**

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**-Chapter 7-**

_************__**This Chapter have been re-edited (4-20-13)**_

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"This is the blade of evil's bane?" The Shadow gives a cold laugh, "How pathetic!" It stops at the ancient blade, examining further yet not touching it as of yet. "After all your line of Heroes were powerless without this toy of theirs, were they not?" It questions with a grin, giving a simple glance to the young Hero.

Link glares, his fingers clawing at the ground in a futile attempt to free himself. Again, he had been knocked over by that stupid force. Now? He was on his back, unable to get up whatsoever. The only blasted thing he could move was his head, he had found. Regretfully he turned his head, his eyes glaring into those snowy orbs.

It just continues at its grin, turning back to face the blade, "So old, I wonder if it would truly break." This time its voice descends to that of a whisper as it gives on final step to the sacred sword. In a hesitant manner it reaches out a hand, hesitantly extending, with the index finger drawing closer to the glittering surface. That sole finger barely even touches the blade's face before being immediately blinded by the whitest of lights. The brightest of lights, so bright that the Shadow Beasts scream in terror as they fall back. Link himself turns away, closing his eyes against its holy light. All the while this blinding light grows, stretches outward to consume the sacred room in just a sweep of mere light.

Then the light screams. Literally. It gongs with a loud crash, resembling that of broken glass, as the light soars upward to the skies where the Triforce once hovered. Then it fades, scream dying and the bright levels dying with it.

Reluctant to find the outcome yet still worried, Link cautiously opens a sky eye, turning his head back to the scene that folds out before him. The sword still stands, as it had before, but… he gasps, _'W-what?'_ His thoughts quarrel, battling for a reason as his eyes give a narrow gesture. The blade… it looks just as it always has yet with a dark scarlet hue, the tinge surrounding every edge of it in a perfect circle. Somewhat like a barrier as it whispers about, the hue shifting slightly with the slight wind that manages to slip by the sword's sacred room.

"Pleasing to know that the sword's makers were not so foolish as to not place a barrier on it." He flinched at the voice, the anger sparking its tone to rise an octave. He turns his head again, his eyes finding the Shadow leaning against the room's vine covered walls. It kicks itself away, eyes solely focused on the sacred weapon. "However," it starts, taking a slow pace toward the sword once more, "such a seal is useless." With that it vanishes in a violent twirl of black, Link then turning to look at the sword once more. Right at its side does the identical black-like smoke give a violent twirl, the Shadow descending from its depths to stand in front of the weapon a second time. "Such a disgusting weapon it is, to think that it could protect itself so easily. Haha…" its laugh dies off, head turning to give a grinning look to the Hero, "would you like to see what happens when a soul loses its light?" It chuckles, its laughter reverberating about the room.

Without a second's wait it raises an arm, its hand pointed straight to the sword with fingers spread out to their entire length. In response, the hue about the sword gives another bright flash of light, but unlike the first try of protecting itself… the light dies just as it appeared. Such a light that took on a grayish hue before fading to nothing. The light that went away without a word, without sound. Then it gives another flash, a scream splitting the atmosphere in half as the light again moves outward to the room's limits. Link closes his eyes once more, the light taking on a brighter yet… darker hue. Its screaming too much for his pointed ears to handle.

Then the scream shatters. Literally shatters, like that of broken glass (again). The very suddenness of its leave forces Link's eyes to open, his conscience pleading him not to do so in fear of seeing what he would more than hate to see. Sure enough, the barrier that shields the blade is degrading. Breaking apart into a swarm of dust particles as its shifting movements and whispers strike at a faster pace. However, this isn't the thing that shakes Link's heart with devastation. No. The barrier isn't just dying out… no it's changing; turning an ugly, rust black with burgundy strips spiraling out at sporadic angles.

Shadow, it cackles, draws back its hand. That famous smile plastering its face as the blade's barrier mutilates, becoming something gruesome even as it tries desperately to fight back. The blade barely giving a shine now, the whispers choking out with each passing spell.

"See how weak your souls of light are? Honestly, placing such a seal on their one and only weapon in defeating darkness… such a seal, easily broken." Its laughter grows, the sword's hue materializing into wisps of smoke as the blade's shine all but dies.

"What are you doing to it?" Link finally speaks, allowing his gaze to flicker amongst the blade and the Shadow. All the while his heart shivers, the devastation plunging further and further into the depths of his conscience. _'What's happening? This-This feeling…'_

It gives another laugh, stepping away from the sacred blade with finality before directing a glinting look toward the boy, "If you're so curious to watch the first domino's descent then why not sit back and enjoy the show?" It gives a shivering giggle, turning black to give a simple grin to the blade.

Link does the same only to find his breath leaving him all in one gasp as the thick emotion of fear smothers him. The once silver, glistening blade is now covered with a thick coat of rust. Golden brown slowly creeping up the rest of the parts untouched, vines slipping about it at a fast pace. Just like that, as the vines devour the now rusted blade, its face begins to crack. Fractals spreading out against the rusted flesh in a staggering motion. The sight of it, as it aged, looked like… a regular sword, nothing holy of it, returning to the state it would after so many years passing after seeing so many legends.

A regular sword. Dead. Aged. Lost to time.

"This little toy of yours is useless. Without its seal of lightness, without its soul, it forms into its prior self—ordinary sword. With its holy soul gone it turns into what it should be, a little, decrepit thing." The Shadow informs, pleased at the finish of the aging sword. The cracks finally cover the blade's majority, the vines pulling it down to the earth beneath it as it then begins to crumble. Right away, that feeling penetrating Link's hear bursts. His eyes widening as time seems to slow, the ancient relic dissipating. Fading into a pile of rust. A useless hope.

"N-no!" He screams then, clawing desperately at the ground against the force that traps him. It only laughs, appearing at his side. It grasps the collar of his tunic, lifting him up with mere ease as its grin takes on a darker presence.

"Shall we get this over with?" It chuckles, its inverted Master Sword forming against its freehand. It brings the sword's blade to Link's eyelevel, that single grin widening just a tad. "You see, Hero, unlike your rusty toy of a sword, mine is the bane of light. Haha, it's said that once we destroy the core of the Master Sword, the real version, then our replicas will be revived to their purpose!" It laughs aloud, its laugh far different than the others prior as its snowy eyes take on a turning color of red. "I'm curious," it laughs, red eyes narrowing, "to see how it affects you light dwellers… how it rips out your soul."

The duo vanish only to appear on the other side of the room, Link's back smashing into the vine covered walls. It presents the blade at his neck, the presence of such dark magic burning his flesh with just the simplest of grazes. He hisses against it, fingers finally able to reach freely and fight against the powerful grip at his tunic. Yet the blade just digs deeper and deeper, making its own series of hisses as it rips open the flesh at his neck. "Geh."

"Get. Away. From. Him!" A shrill voice erupts from behind them, the Shadow being pulled back by an enormous, pulsating hand. It's so sudden that Link falls forward, falling to the ground. He gets up though, his good hand immediately applying desired pressure to the new cut at his throat. Stifling a pained cry, he looks to his savior. His floating, little companion standing in front of him with her twiggy arms spread out wide.

'_Midna.'_ He takes on a relieved smile. "Midna tha-" he stops, the very effort to speak making his wounds pulse with fire. He groans, ignoring the worried look of the shadowy imp as she glances at him, her eyes being drawn away from the Shadow who finally gets up to its feet.

"How dare you, you insolent imp!" It nearly growls, pulling Midna's attention back to its face as it lifts its blade to her general direction, "I don't have time or the patience to deal with you!" Its voice roars, red eyes darkening as it points a freehand to the Shadow Beasts at the room's entrance. "You two, end her. I don't care how. You can eat her for all I care, but the Chosen One is _mine_!"

As if to portray their happiness in bloodlust, the Beasts flash away in a series of smoke only to appear at Midna's front only to whack her to the side with just a mere swing of their arm. She's sent flying, leaving Link to fall into the clutches of the Shadow once more as it too flashes to his front. He jumps up, ignoring the pain that eats at his senses. The Shadow swings. Desperate to rid his body of more pain, Link pulls out his shield just in time for it to absorb the crash of the dark blade.

A loud growl erupts forth, another following after it with another crash of the blade. Matching his back with the wall, he attempts to scoot away from the corner he had been forced into, but each time he attempts that sword crashing against his shield sends him back. Another growl rises, the vibrations literally eating away at his strength. The blows eagerly sucking away the energy riding in his muscles. He sends a wary glance over the edge of his shield over the Shadow's shoulder. Despite the pain and the panic over having nothing but a shield in-between him and his enemy, his mind can't help but worry over his little companion.

She floats backward, barely dodging one of the beast's grotesque arms. Extending out her arms she clasps them together, a red orb appearing with jagged lines outlining its edges. Throwing her arms back behind her she lets it loose. It plunges into one of the beasts, the jagged lines bursts apart from the impact, yet it shows little promise of damage. Seeing this she says something unintelligible as she barely dodges another flying arm. Again she floats backward and repeats her attack and again it does little damage. Angrily she glances to the Shadow and Link, meeting his gaze briefly before turning her attention back to her cursed people. Her one moment of distraction sends her flying across the room again, her head smacking into the ground with such force that the contact resounds about the company.

"Midna!"Link calls in honest desperation, his mind reeling. His instincts tear away from him, urging him to aid her. Without a second thought he drops the shield and runs. He runs past the Shadow, but it only turns on him, tripping him with a brisk turn of the blade. "Not so fast Hero." It growls as it gives a quick little flick of its, leaving its blade to sink through Link's flesh. Right as the blade's tip comes in contact with his rib cage he let's out an agonized cry, his vision reddening with the assaulting pain. He clenches his teeth together, his own blood joining in on the stains against his once forest green tunic. "Such a pathetic Hero." The Shadow smiles once more as it raises the blade again and lets it down in another spot , the blade hissing. "Gah!" He winces, gasping just as the blade gets pulled out again, his body burning all the more. Nevertheless, he ignores it. Only forces his attention on Midna behind him, bending back his head and trying his best to ignore the blade that slices at his torso once more.

'_Midna…'_

The Shadow beasts are already on her, one's grip seeming to much for her to handle. She cries out against the pressure, wincing as they then proceed to slam her repeatedly against the sacred room's floor. "M-Mid-Midna!" Link cries out as he then forces himself to roll to the side, only inches away from receiving another stab. Somehow, he manages to get up on his trembling legs, the Shadow's blade ripping through his back. He screams this time, the burning pain making it feel as if his very flesh was being ripped apart from his skeletal structure. Even so, he does a stumbling run toward her, reaching out with a worried grasp.

'_I can't lose you… I can't. Not again.'_ His mind runs crazily, seeming to go faster in thought with each drop of blood that now runs past Midna's lips as she too screams out from her own, personal pain.

For that moment, she rips her gaze away from the Beasts to Link, eyes widening when she sees him fall again- a wall of glistening rubies rising up from his chest. He falls on his hands and knees, the blood seeming to never end as it trickles about him. Even she herself is covered in her own blood, her form no longer shadowy- white skin now tainted with red. She vanishes from the beasts' grasp, the effort making her give out another cry of displeasure. She appears at Link's side, crimson eyes glistening. "Link?" She squeaks, her small hand immediately pressing against his neck for a pulse. She pulls it a way however, flinching when he coughs up even more blood. "D-Don't worry Link." Her voice shakes, sounding as unsure as ever as she looks up to the oncoming Beasts and the disgusting Shadow. "I can get us out of here. It'll hurt since its sudden and t-there's no warp hole above us. Just please, don't die." Her voices cracks painfully, her head bending back so as to see the bit of sky above them.

Trying his best to look through his mess of golden bangs at Midna, "J-Just do it. I d-don't care." He mutters weakly, flinching at her touch.

"But Link you might not be ab-…" Link grasps her arm weakly as he manages up to his knees, teeth bared, "Just do it, Midna!" He barks before crying out at the hissing of his own flesh and the hissing of the blade that stabs through his back.

"Link!" Her voice shrieks, eyes now clear with tears as he releases her arm. His agonized eyes fall to the dark blade's tip, its dark edge protruding from his chest. The new wound… right by his heart.

"Do it. Just do it, Midna!"

A flurry of green lights mask the other colors in his vision, miniscule squares adding to the hue. With it a sudden rush of wind strikes as does that unbelievable surge of pain, feeling as the hottest of fires slices through flesh like one of the sharpest of swords. Then the green hue fades- resembling the red barrier that had been corrupted by that disgusting Shadow. A blood red replacing it as the small squares swirl around in a rapid motion. He feels his skin literally rip further, feeling the sword retreat. He cries out further, feeling his body fall back to the ground. Feeling his world begin to blur. To gasp.

Such a pain, it tore at his body. It made his heart throb, his mind reel even more so than capable. Oh it hurt. Like a thousand swords gutting him. Like his head being smashed into rock after rock. It felt like poison.

Then it felt like weightlessness.

With a loud screeching sound, something like a Poe's scream, the rush of wind vanished, but the pain was ever present. He let out another cry as he felt himself crash into dusty ground. The odd color of vision blurred against him, his sight dying out just as the pain reached its peak. He felt Midna fall on top of him, his back burning at the impact, yet he didn't dare cry out… he couldn't. It hurt too much.

He drew out a trembling hand, the fingers shaking to such an extent that it pained him as he reached out to the dusty ground. His nails dug into the earth, his eyes falling shut against his will. The warping session was painful as it was. Goddesses, he could barely even manage to keep a thought in his head! His nails dug deeper, drawing blood as they were bitten by the sharp grains of sand. Then his hand went limp as did the rest of his body. It just died, completely shutdown.

_'I have to… find help…'_ yet his thoughts flew away, falling into slumber.

_'I… hav-…'_

Then came the darkness.

* * *

**I do hope that this re-edited version is less abrupt. It has more detail in it that's for sure. You see, have you noticed how I continue to mention Link's previous wounds? Remember what was mentioned about the dark sword being dangerous to light dwellers? Well that was left out until the next chapter (plot hole discovered o-o), but I have fixed it and have continued to foreshadow for you . . I wonder if you have noticed the other hints? Eee hee hee!**

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-Listenin' to Light 'Em Up from Fall Out Boy**

**-5 Pages**

**-In the unedited version, Link didn't show negative thoughts until later on through this fanfic. I disliked that. Another reason why I edited everything. That and it lacked certain attention toward things like the dark swords, the fall of the Master Sword, and Midna's desperation and worry. After all, throughout all of this I wish to give you a different perspective of the chosen hero. He's used so much. He acts as the Goddesses wish him. He can't dare stray from the path. I always thought of this outlook in Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, his desperation to remain "normal" yet continue to allow himself to be used like a chess peice. It's somewhat hard to explain, but I'm sure you get my point.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Oh good Goddesses I just realized I've been saying "This Chapter HAVE been re-edited" XD Sorry! **

* * *

**-Chapter 8-**

**__************__****This Chapter has been re-edited (4-20-13)**

* * *

A scream breaks the eerie silence of the barren village, the nearby Cuccos taking flight upon immediately receiving the onslaught of a pained voice. Again the scream comes but again it dies just as quickly as it had appeared; all the while sounding off from the ole Shaman's hut, all village inhabitants sending a worried glance. Just this afternoon, the screams had started. It all happened when the Shaman's daughter found a young man and… whatever the heck the other thing was… and took the two away. The denizens of the village had been told that it was a wounded traveler who had been mugged. They knew better. They had seen it. There had been so much blood. So much that even the spring of Eldin was tainted with it. They had even sighted the blackness of those wounds through the tattered tunic.

The young man wasn't simply mugged. Even if the half of them hadn't witnessed it the screams were enough to prove their ideals correct. This boy had run into something else. No, he didn't have the luck of encountering mere bandits.

**III**

He lets out a strangled gasp, the millionth one, as he tightens his white knuckled grip on the makeshift bed's covers. His face twisted with hazed emotions, eyes dully staring above at the patched ceiling. His usual blue eyes now hazed with gray, the look of pain rippling through those dull irises with such mirth.

The wince that he brings about forces his breath out of him again, his body unwillingly trying to bring back in breath despite the responding agony. Despite this knowing he's devoid of thought—blank, nothing but a bloodied doll. If winces could possibly grow his did just that, resulting in another scream of obvious pain that died of in a mere whimper. In all of that devoid response, he somehow managed the thought, _'Am I… dying?'_ As soon as he grabbed and pulled at that thought, it vanished. It left him to fall into focusing on the pain once more. How it ripped at his heart, gutted his insides. How it spread like a swarm of monstrous ants.

"Hang in there Link." A voice resounds through his wall of throbbing. He only cries out in response, feeling a covering—bandage—against his wounds. His eyes shut then, his fingers clawing at the blankets. Then his fingers fall back against the folds of the covers. The sudden desire to just sleep in hopes of letting the pain pass smoothly pressing against him, choking him. He fights it for a moment, scared. His mind reeling. What if he did sleep and couldn't wake back up? Forever to be tortured with this unimaginable pain, unable to become free of it… what then? Even so he feels his breath calm, only shaking at moments when the pain jerks at his consciousness. His muscles immediately falling which just adds to the already drastic level of pain. Everything feeling frozen, on fire- frequently succumbing to the feeling of being stabbed by a number of swords that hold no mercy.

Endless agony.

**III**

_Everything_ _ached, burned, anything that could describe the word pain seemed to hug him lovingly, greedily, hungrily. Wrapping his arms around his knees he couldn't help but let out a weak groan, the sound haunting him as it echoed mercilessly about his dream world. Hesitantly, he opened his hazy eyes to be greeted by nothing but darkness. The recognition flared another level of pain to consume him, sending his arms about him to flee and instead focus on his chest. The pain there was… ah, he couldn't explain it. He couldn't dare to for even that attempt at concentration hurt too much._

"_Hero of Light, you must hold caution. If you are to die then so shall Hyrule, so shall this peace that you and your ancestors have tried so desperately to strive for, and so shall your loved ones. This darkness has easily matched itself with you, your potential, your knowledge, your skill, and even greater in them all." A chorus of breaths surface about him, smothering his whimpers. Again he opens his eyes, blinking sporadically at the new images that blind his vision. Four orbs of light appear, their glow blinding him. _

_He cries out then, fingers digging deeper into the flesh at his chest as he meekly replies, "W-What do you expect me to do? I have no idea where I am, if I'm alive, or what." He lets out a gasp for air, his own voice shocking him. It sounded terribly weak. It reminded him of slipping in between to the verge of death, perhaps that was why the spirits were speaking with him? Wishing to give him some encouragement? How could they when his own thoughts were still heavy with the pain that he could easily feel through sleep?_

_ "You are the Hero of Light. You mustn't die." Again they spoke, sounding more in unison then when they first did. They even sounded… annoyed? No, disappointed. "History must not be rewritten by such a darkened cretin who bears the same face as the Hero of Time. It destroyed the ancient relic; therefore, it is as strong as ever. Right as we speak with you that very darkened soul is continuing their path through Hyrule and its bleeding out to the neighbored lands. If this foul mist reaches the edges then it will become unstoppable."_

_ Link cried out again, screaming now at the pain that riddled his body. His assumptions of their tones were right, his thoughts informed. They were annoyed. They were disappointed."Does my w-wellbeing not matter?" _

_ Conveniently the four orbs faded away in a weak burst of light, leaving Link's dream realm to be enveloped in darkness once more. He screamed at them, demanded them to come back. "Don't leave me!" He screamed, tears burning his skin as he then proceeded to lean over himself. "Don't leave…" he begged, "I don't want to be…"_

_ 'Left alone. To feel this…'_

**III**

He strikes up, fingers clawing at the covers tangled about him. His teary eyes widen as he screams out again, his body falling helplessly back down to the pillows beneath him. The fluffed up pillows give a gentle pop, such a soft sound like another addition of pain to his senses as Cucco feathers fly out from the seams. Stifling another cry, he tries again for his sudden desire is to at least sit up but the racking pain that hugs his body just as it did in his dream ceases to release him. "Link you mustn't!" A thick voice proclaims, the sudden sound making his cry rip out against him. Every part of his being feeling so agonizingly sensitive as he glares at the speaker, his vision blurred with pained tears.

"W-What did you do to me? Where a-am I? M-Mid-Midna's where?" His voice struggled—panted- as if even opening his mouth was a strain to his energy.

The speaker comes into view, black braids pulled back to resemble a familiar face. Link relaxes slightly, his glare fading to that of a wince. A familiar face was good… but… "I gave you a medicine. It should have lessened the pain a bit, but it looks like it is only doing it on a small thread. Now with remembering me I trust you know where you are now, Kakariko Village. We found you and your friend outside of the hut near the spring. We managed to clean your wounds as best we could and bandage them but all the while you were acting lively in expressing the amount of pain that befell you. I'm afraid to say that your wounds are grave. Boy, they seem , but your friend was not as in bad shape, she is recovering at a much faster rate but she has not awoken at all I'm afraid."

**III**

The Shadow performs a hesitant bow to its master, seeing this Dark only strengthens his glare on his imbecile of a slave. The other Shadow stands silently beside Dark with a taunting smile plastered on his face. Clearly pleased at its twin's failure. "Have you finished your order already? If so then why are you looking so afraid that I'll destroy your useless life?" It's master begins, its voice barely above a menacing whisper. "So? What news?"

"Well, my Master. We encountered the Hero and the Twili at the Sacred Grove. They were trying to get _that_. I interfered though and caught the Hero and Twili off guard." It says with a rather excited voice yet stifling a smile to threaten its features as it bows its head again. "But… he escaped with the Twili. However, it appeared that they were on the verge of death when they warped. The Hero was warped in his Light Dweller state so… they'll be in a grave state…" the Shadow flinches, allowing its voice to trail off as it again pulls its gaze away from the staring master.

Dark hissed at this, the Shadow flinching even more, "So instead of finishing the order you do it halfway? That's unacceptable! He is the _Hero of Time_! Anyone who sees a blond-y in a green tunic is definitely going to help him! Instead of reporting useless things to me you should find him and make sure he really is dead which I now doubt since you've been wasting precious time! Now get out of my sight and do not come back until you have finished the order. I don't care if it takes you an eternity. He is the only obstacle that stands in our way. You've reached your last ledge. If you value your pathetic existence of a Shadow and even if you don't, you better get this task over with or I. Will. End. You." He roars, sending the Shadow flying across the throne room. Its body crashes into the wall, its snowy eyes closing briefly so as to resist the desiring cry of pain to speak out in reply.

"Y-Yes my Master. As you say I shall fulfill." It gives a meek reply before pulling itself back up and away from the wall, fingers clenching with worry as it vanishes in a violent puff of smoke.

Dark glares at the receding smoke, teeth bared as he claws at the throne's arm. "If your twin Shadow doesn't end him," he whispered ferociously, glaring at his second Shadow minion, "then I will end you both and go to the land of light myself. I don't care what it takes. The present Hero of Time must die."

**III**

The imp finally submerged from the mountain of blanket folds, fiery braids falling into her groggy gaze like a burning curtain. Spitting the fire colored strands out and pulling the rest behind her pointed ears, her eyes briskly searched the silent room. Such a small room it was, the scent of light dwellers so repugnant that she couldn't help but make a barfing gesture.

Her expressionless face seeped into a frown as her gaze settled to her flesh. The warp had been just as painful to her as it was for Link. She had meant to take him somewhere safe, wherever that was. She couldn't really remember her intended destination, but by the little bandages that were tied about her body she felt safe. Wherever they were, they were safe. Nodding in reassurance, ignoring the bite of pain that met her neck, she fell to studying her little box which had been set for her bed. Finally she brushed the covers to the side to only be met with a sudden jolt of pain. So sudden that she fell back down, almost off the box. Mumbling incoherently she reached at the box's side, pulling herself up with a little growl. With a worried glance she again looked to her body, her eyes trailing about the Twilit runes carved on her skin. Their glow was faint, almost white.

"That blow should have only fractured a few bones at the least. So then my warp attempt's flaw must have created all this mess." She grumbles as she brushes a hand over her bandages, ignoring the faint pulsing of her markings, and frowns in disgust. "I'm a ruler of the Twilight Realm and I let my own beasts get the better of me even in this form. I even get weak from warping?" Her voice gets lower with each word as if realization is just waiting behind her thoughts' corner eager to break out in news. "If the warp did this to me then that means…" She jumps up, landing on the other side of her makeshift bed, landing fairly well at first before falling flat on her face. Despite this she claws at the crate's other side in the attempt to get herself back up. "Link." She gasps, the jolt of pain popping up in her chest as she finally snags a finger on the crate's rim.

A door somewhere across from her opens with a loud squeak of protest, the very noise making her wince. "You mustn't get up yet! Your wounds have yet to heal!" She lifts her gaze from the floor to meet the speaker, the light dweller girl skidding to a stop before her with the most worried of gazes. Her black hair cut to resemble a boy's own hair, her build more like a pole, and her eyes wide with consideration.

She ignored the girl's hospitable look, "Who are you, where am I, and where is Link!" Midna growled, smacking away the girl's helping hand that she had stretched out in an attempt to aid the imp back in the box.

"Why, you are in my father's house. He's a Shaman. You're in Kakariko, it's a safe place now thanks to Link's doings a while back! Oh and I'm Luda. Father asked me to check on you, how are you feeling? You've been unconscious for quite sometime."

"What? How many days have passed?"

"Including that of today, five. Same goes with your friend, Link. He woke up a few hours ago, but fell back to sleep."

Her red eyes widened at this, looking over the girl's crouched position to the door. Link was here, that was good… but how was he in general? That worried her… "Link. How is he?"

"Unlike your wounds his are much worse. Everything in and out is just about wounded. Father and I were surprised he was still breathing. Father mentioned that some of his wounds look as if a curse was eating away at his life, resembling burns but still not quite even burns. I'm not really sure, he wouldn't let me get a good look at them but I do know that they look like a nasty black. What happened to you two?"

This question obviously threw the imp off, her gaze hardening on the girl. Even so she softened, scowl turning to a simple frown. The answer wasn't so easy to gather. What had happened indeed. Sure, the Master Sword is ancient and its true form should be a pile of rust, but its seal makes it new as if it had been just made, but such a wretched shadow changed it, the seal easily taken away to be replaced with an opposite seal and dwindling its title to a pile of rust. Noting this Midna crossed her arms and wincing a bit as she does so. That wasn't all. The Twilight Legend's Shadow had a cursed sword. The opposite of the holy weapon that was now stronger than ever. If it touched Link then… that means-

"Um…" Luda's voice draws Midna's attention once more, the imp's gaze sending a short glare at the girl for interrupting her thoughts. "You don't have to explain what happened if you don't want to, father said not to press you anyway. Oh but I must have an answer for, are you feeling well despite your wounds?"

"I'm fine. What about Link, has he said anything?" She asked, quickly wiping at the saddened emotion crossing her gaze. She couldn't help but imagine his pain. She couldn't help but to think of what might become of him because that last blow from the sword, it looked as if it touched his heart.

"When he woke up father said that he was worried about you. Other than that he has just been mumbling through his sleep. His recovery is not going so well, I'm afraid."

"Is he in a state where he could possibly…" Her voice drifts off to a whisper and then falls all together. She knew all too well what would happen if her question became reality. To her it felt as if even hearing the words would jinx it all and make it happen. _'That sword had touched his heart. I know it, but I can't accept it. What if he…'_

Luda clasped her hands together, rocking back as if in the process of thinking or perhaps finding the right words to answer. "Well, I'm still learning from my father about wounds and such, but right now I'm not quite sure on the matter. He's lost quite a lot of blood. You will need to ask my father about that to get a direct answer, but from how he is acting he is not sure either." She frowns as she finishes, not daring to look down from the ceiling at the imp's now weakening form.

Midna falls back against the crate, almost missing it with her present trembling. _'So he is dying?'_ She shakes her head rather abruptly. Her eyes closing against the thoughts. _'Come on, Midna. That's not possible. A Legend is never supposed to…'_

"Well, I'll tell father the good news that you've awoken." Luda says hesitantly, seeming uncomfortable with the quick slip of silence. She stands, hurriedly heading to the door. Right as she opens it the imp is right by her side, rather then her usual floating she's standing on the floor.

Her red eyes stare up, tears threatening to spill as her voice shakes in a whisper. "I want to see Link." She insists, clenching her fists as she glares up at the girl.

"But you're still weak!" Luda gestures down at her, noting Midna's shaky posture.

"I don't care! Link is more important. Now show him to me!" At first the girl only stood there, eyes downcast at the imp. She knew well that her father would be overly angry at her and fully worried over the creature if she were to follow Midna's desire. Still, if she would say no she would not be surprised if the creature- whatever it is- would set a curse on her or something if she didn't follow- the glint in its eyes not helping ease that mere thought one bit. Sighing the girl opened the door wider, letting Midna pass through before following her.

**III**

Right away Midna clamps her small hands on the bed's side, eyes freeing tears at a faster rate. "L-Link?" She whispers. He only shifts restlessly in response, not trying at opening his eyes. "I'm sorry." She mumbles, hands clenching at the covers, "It's my fault. If I had not listened to you about warping then you wouldn't be in this bad of shape, but then if we didn't warp then you and I would be…" her voice caught. She didn't want to finish that sentence. Not even the thought. No, she wouldn't accept that, how the chance of it was so close. "It still could be for you though, not me." She frowns at realizing this. She had hoped that what the weird girl said was wrong. That his wounds were fine, but even through the bandages she could see his blood. She could see the inky black. Her eyes already noted from first seeing him, how his skin was so white and sick. "If only princess Zelda were here…" again her voice caught. She immediately regretted saying that, especially to Link. No doubt he still felt it his fault that he had not arrived fast enough, that he felt that he was not as strong as a Hero that the spring guardians claimed he once was.

No doubt he was blaming himself for it all right now.

"Luda!" An older light dweller with far longer hair than the girl barks, the door opening with a loud squeak. The girl looks away from the imp only to see a frantic looking shaman. "Father, what worries you?" He ignores his daughter, his eyes set on the imp. Frustrated at his sudden silence Midna turns, swaying a bit from the quick movement,

"Spit it out light dweller!" She spat, her voice rumbling under old rage.

"A-A Shadow is h-h-here!" Acting as if even saying it took a toll on him he leans against the wall, panting.

Midna squeaks, "What!" The imp's voice rises, all eyes glancing to the restless form of Link.

"Yes. It's even darker outside then it was just moments ago! It's coming this way." The Shaman pants, gesturing a faint hand to the outside of the door.

"It can't be! Not now!" She swore, her hands clinging back to Link's bedside. _'Not now, not when you're like this!'_

"It's here for Link then?" The little girl quietly asked, flinching at the imp's instant glare.

"Well why else would it be coming this way?" Her voice raises an octave, making the injured hero string out a pained groan. Quickly shushing her own voice she let out a sigh, "With the state Link's in there's no way he will even be able to sit up in bed correctly. Which means… we can't run. Can't hide properly." As if to reassure that statement she nods, heading away from Link's bedside. _'There's only one way then.' _She steps farther away from the bed, forcing her gaze to look anywhere else but at Link's pained form. "I will get that pesky, tainted, worthless excuse for a Shadow out myself." Again she let out a second nod, but stops in mid-action. Her body being blocked off from the view of the door.

"And what do you plan to do once you face this Shadow?" The Shaman demands, courching slightly to look Midna at a suitable angle. "You have no sword let alone the Master Sword of legends! You're aura even resembles the very Shadow's so how will you be able to surpass its level when you most certainly will seem to match it?" He questioned, accusations riding in his features.

His words. Infuriating. How dare he spout such things. After all wasn't she going to do them a favor in Link's place? How dare he! To even shove her down for her origins of being- aura of darkness. "Why you filthy light dweller! How dare you belittle me with such words and even go down the path of claiming I am like that Shadow! That Shadow is not solely part of my kind, not at all and yet you dare to say it is one of my people? You dare to judge me by my present appearance while you do not even know my true form or my entire self for that matter!" She shrieked, forgetting again that Link was trying to sleep. Her imp body tenses with clear anger as she jumps up to meet the old man's eyes, her markings giving an angry pulse of red as she floats in her newfound stance. "You dare to judge the princess of the Twilight Realm?" This time she forces her voice to a dangerously low level, her fiery strands of hair rippling angrily around her.

How dare he indeed.

Letting loose one last growl she floated past him, strands of fiery hair still rippling. This time the old father of Luda did not try and stop her only look over his shoulder in astonishment. Princess of the Twilight Realm? Regrettably he flicked his gaze to Link. The gods, even the goddesses, were surely not in his favor through this line if he had to assist in meddling with inhabitants from that realm. If had to degrade himself to help such tainted creatures.

Dare he indeed.

**III**

The Shadow Beasts' growl of agitation shakes the very foundations of the village, their dreadlocks coiling at an angry rate about them. Their oversized limbs brushing at the ground in annoyed anticipation. Between them, their fellow, shadowy subordinate growled along with them. Its snowy eyes glaring at the very village that threatened its present life. It was obvious that it had learned its lesson from before, do not return until the Hero of Time is dead. Otherwise it would mean its own death. There was no way that it would go against master and become nothing but a simple shadow once again. A shadow without a will. No, it couldn't stand the thought of it.

A moan of a Shadow Beast pulls its thoughts to the village's surroundings. Its white eyes flashing about to asses the dry structures, the dust covered signs, and the rocky mountains. Its eyes locked onto the nearest building, an Inn of sorts with a dilapidated sign that read something like "Kakariko Village," but for all it knew the sign read, "Kaki Vills."

"What a poor excuse for a village. Doesn't even deserve to be a village." It comments with another sweep of the eyes. Its gaze returns however back on the beasts, their bodies swaying as their misshapen arms scrape at the ground for a second time. Their odd actions being that of gestures, both scraping in only one direction in particular.

"So, he _is_ here?" It asks, receiving a low growl from both of the beasts. "Marvelous, brilliant, fantastic!" The shadow speaks with a sinister chuckle. At least they'd caught the hero. At least this time the Hero was in a devastating state. It would be easy to end him now when he was already struggling over the brink of life and death. "All right then let's…" it paused, the Inn's door slamming open, "Oh-ho, princess." It grins, the imp flying out of the building to hop on the banister that loosely hangs from the Inn's bit of porch.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face to me you pathetic excuse for a shadow!"

It laughs at this, closing its eyes briefly before allowing its laughter to increase tenfold, "Even so you must be very arrogant, showing your face to me when you are still in a state of pain!" It chuckles, laughter falling slightly with its grin. "I can just imagine how the Hero looks!"

The floating Midna crosses her arms, her body covered in shadows once more. Her bandages still rip about her small body, the markings still a lighter shade than the usual as she continues to glare at the shade and its Beasts. It in turn raises a slow hand, slipping out its accursed blade that she had seen prior. "No smart comeback? Well then, let us end your being here and now, shall we? Honest, I'm quite annoyed at your presence. Such a dirtied one it is."

**III**

That same dream. Those same words. Still each time the orbs of light appear and spoke he continued to ask the last question. Each time, not one answer was given. Did they care for him at all? Was he just a tool for humanity's sake, no life of his own? "N-no…" He gasped, his breath echoing madly about the realm. Giving barely even a shake of his head he closes his eyes. He didn't want to think about it. Even so every time he relaxed the thought the dream appeared again. Didn't he know this in the first place? A legend of light, a hero, a protector. Of course. So, why now?

_"Because you ache. Because you're lost."_ He snaps his eyes open, the whispering voice chuckling all around him. The voice like a cold finger scraping against the glass… like a soft trickling of water… like a dying victim's scream. All in one, a voice of devastation. Promise. _"You're a tool and always will be one. You're just a puppet with a dozen strings, not a one to ever be cut. Your ancestors as well, even your future brethren. If you die another will appear, another will take your place. You will be forgotten, easily mistaken for the newer hero."_

Mistaken. Forgotten. Lost. Just a too- "No, stop it! T-That's not…" True? He cried out at this, his fingers pressing against his chest again to feel at the gaping hole beneath his bandages. It hurt. Hurt so much. Burned.

Agony.

_"The people of your legend are all the same. There is nothing different about you. You are not you. You are ever to surrender to the hero's shadow, ever to be taken advantage of, so therefore you are just a mere puppet. A toy that can be thrown about without care, always to hold a forced smile no matter what, always to obey, and always to go where others decide. Nothing is yours and nothing shall ever be yours alone. You don't even have a family to call your own."_

_ "After all, were not you used by the being of Twilight? She used you as a tool for her people and her people only. You were to obey and go wherever she demanded. You followed so easily, like a good little tool should do. You are-…"_

"Stop it! Shut up! I don't want to hear this!" Link growls, his voice cracking. He strains, eyes threatening tears.

_"You. Are. Nothing."_ Nothing. Lost. Forgotten. Mistaken. Tool.

"No! I-I'm…" his voice claws for reassurance, threatening to close up on him as he forces his eyes to close against the darkness once more.

_"You are Link? You know just as the other heroes knew that that is your puppet name. The name that is always to be forced on you. You are no one. Just a hero's shadow and ever to be a shadow. You aren't Link. You never were."_

**III**

Link opened his eyes, his breath coming out in a shallow note. As before, his eyes were clouded. Devoid. The only difference was the pure expression of his features: nothing. There was nothing. Even as he sat up in one fluid motion, he didn't cry out, didn't wince, or show any sign of pain. No, the only show was the black and red that pooled on his bandages. The black swirled there, deepening and drowning out the bloody colors.

Silently, he tore the covers from his body and slipped his legs to the side. His murky eyes of blue stared off to the door, un-blinking. With sick skin and a pulsating Triforce mark does he stand, his fingers curling into fists as he gives another wispy breath,

"I. Am. Nothing." His weakened voice whispers, his lips barely parting to speak the icy words.

* * *

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-8 Pages**

**-Yes, the blade did touch his heart -**

**-Re-edited under half an hour, didn't take as long as I expected (mostly because I like this chapter XD)**


	10. Chapter 9

**R&R por favor X3**

* * *

**-Chapter 9—**

******__************__****This Chapter has been re-edited (4-20-13)**

* * *

Stifling a cry, the Twilian pushes herself off the ground once more, eyes clearly ablaze what with the swirling red color that touches her vision. With just a flick of a wrist her fiery braids shoot outward, forming ugly, pulsing hands that reach out for the two Beasts of shadows. They coil, colliding into the swaying Beasts and knocking them back against the rocky mountain walls. A thick cloud of dust sprays forth, bits of rock crumbling under the Beasts' impact.

"Ooh, impressive!" She turns earning a stabbing pain right in her side as her hair quickly returns to its normal length and shape. She bites a cry, hopping away from the dark blade that now hisses with her own blood.

"C-Coward! Hiding yourself to leave your dogs with me and then showing up again to swipe at me. How dare you!" She growls, hands flailing about to express her aggravation at the little, shadowy worm. It gives a simple smile, adjusting its grip on the hilt before-

"N-No, Link! Your wounds, wait!" The voice of the light dweller girl rips the duo's attention from the other, their attention focused to the Inn door that bursts open, the wooden door shattering into bits of wood as a begrudged Hero stumbles out of it all.

'_Link?'_ He manages down the stairs, almost tripping in the process. His now blackened bandages glistening underneath the sun's boiling heat. Again he trips, this time his body toppling over but his hand immediately shoots out, a rusted blade appearing between his palms to strike the earth so as to keep him from face-planting. The rusted sword gives an uncomfortable whine as he draws it out, leaning backward as he sets his clouded eyes on both the Shadow and the Twili.

"L-Link? How are you…" The imp trails off as she does a hop skip so as to float in the air, still in the Shadow's reach.

The Shadow sides her, its sword back to resting at its side as it performs a bit of a smiling smirk, "No light dweller can withstand what you've went through, so-called hero. So why are you even up and about?" The Shadow hisses in addition.

Link stops, his gaze having trouble glaring at the two gawking at him. His breath wisps out, the black from the bandages seeming to trickle down his sick skin. "Don't. Call. Me. That." He speaks, voice choked with weakness and anger.

His little companion tilts her head, floating closer to him with a hesitant, outstretched hand. "What do you mean by "_don't call me that_?" Link, are you even okay enough to stand?"

"Don't call me that!" His voices raises, crackling in the mid of it all.

_'His name?'_ She draws her hand back, floating closer to him now. "What do you mean? That is your name! You're Link. What have you lost your head or something?" She growls right back, the Shadow siding her again but oddly falling into observing silence.

The disoriented Link swipes the air in front of him with the rusty blade, spouting something incoherently before raising his voice. "I am not Link. Link is not me! I am me!"

"W-What…" Midna gasps, confused as ever, small hands clasping together, "you really have lost your head h-…" A failed attempt of a chuckle from the Shadow forces her voice to trail off, at this the Shadow's chuckle becomes louder. Sharper. Darker.

"Well then, pathetic hero, what's your name then?" It laughs, gesturing toward the swaying Link. Smile growing.

"I am nothing." The boy answers meekily, clouded eyes falling to find interest in the rusted blade that he had somehow summoned, managing even a shrug as he takes another step toward them.

"Nothing hmmm? Tell me, hero, what happened? Have you really gone mad?" It chuckles, smiling even more so.

"Stop calling me a hero. I'm not a shadow like you. And mad? Tch, you haven't seen anything yet!" Link laughs aloud. A laugh so dark and unforgiving that it brings the village to a fit of shivers. He even goes as far as to easily mimic the Shadow's twisting grin. Still laughing away, with his free hand he brushes an index finger against the sword's edge. The sword in turn gives a deafening hiss, its golden coat taking on a red sheen. Darkening like blood as the rust slowly returns the blade's previous color from long ago. "You haven't seen anything!"

"Link? What's the matter with you!" Midna shouts over his laughter, trembles riding up her spine at the madness that seems to eat away at his glinting smile.

The boy lowers his head then, his laughing suddenly silent. "Never spout that accursed name to me again you wretched Twili! You've used me for the last time. All of Hyrule and your people of your realm have used me for the last time! I will not let you throw me away when you are done with me. You will not replace me. I will not let you force me to cower underneath a shadow of a man who once was!" He shouts back, pointing his blade to the Twili.

The Shadow's sudden clapping draws the deranged boy back at it, leaving Midna to shoot a glare at the blasted thing. "Is this your doing you blasted shadow?" She hisses, fiery hair blazing more angrily than usual.

It gives a rather gentle shake of its head, still grinning, "Oh ho, what a work of art. Though sadly this is not my doing, in a sense. It seems my beloved sword tainted his soul. But enough of that… come, boy, you have a fancy new sword, why not show your Twili friend here what you mean by saying that we haven't seen anything yet? Surely you want to prove that you are at least better then your predecessors who cowered under a shadow of legends… if that is what you're referring to?"

With the prior grin still present, Link nods in turn, but then drops the grin into a frown. As it died did it return as if he had a moment of conflicting emotions. Straightening his posture he raises the blade subtly over his head. The blade emanating yet another malicious hiss. In just that movement of the blade and its repetitive hissing, it lets out a haunting light. If ever a glow was as dark it would surely mean the apocalypse, its misted, deathly pale glow circling the blade as it slowly starts to pour down to the ground, eagerly desiring to cover everything in its wake as if it were just a simple light. Right as its darkening curtains touch the ground, the mark of the Triforce- though covered by bandages- glows even bright upon Link's hand. Albeit not of its normal response with the gentle, peaceful glow of gold. No. It's more abrupt. Its glow sporadic and encompassed by blood.

She staggered back, her body shivering underneath the menacing aura illuminating from her old friend. She cringed at the sight of him, his emotionless eyes boring into her as he stepped closer. Wiping at the tears, she finally hit realization. This person is no longer Link, whoever this person is… different. Lost. Forgotten. He really had gone mad. _'Do you really think I had come all this way to simply use you? You coward!' _Something she so desperately wanted to scream, but just the sight of the darkening clouds above and this… person… in front of her made her unable to even utter a word.

Fine then. If he wanted to be stupid, childish then she would just have to knock him down. With a flurry of hand motions with just a single hand, three black orbs surrounded her. Three pieces of what looked to be a headdress appearing from their insides of the orbs, a series of lines running through each surface as if they all held their own heart. They circled her, quickening with their cycle before they began to create their own hissing sound. With just heavy sound of a rock hitting wood, the pieces formed together over her and fell onto her fiery head. Her own imp crown forming with the bottom. The very effort burned her, her energy leaving her just like that. She shouldn't be doing this… shouldn't be able to summon these Forbidden Powers. They were in the Twilight Realm with the Twilight Legend, yet she had summoned them… _'No matter, I'll use them to my advantage before it becomes too much.'_

"Fine then. If you want to act like a little light dweller child, I'll play along!"

**III**

Far off from the new disturbance within the grounds of Kakariko, to the endless deserts, the seers looked on with faceless masks. Long since the beginning have they dwelled within the walls of the ancient prison, the prison with its shackled souls. All appearing one by one on their towering stands that look over the Twilight Mirror and its gate. With blank, illuminating faces the Sages looked to the disturbances, ancient, white robes swirling as their usual expressions lessened.

"The disturbance…" One spoke, voice echoing softly.

"Created by the Hero…" Another added.

"The prophecy has been altered."

"Yes. There can only be one side after all…"

"But like this, Hyrule's fate will fall."

"And like this so will the other lands."

"Yes, even the legends themselves."

"Especially the Hero."

"His realization was shown, no?"

"Only through another's eyes."

"What of the one of the other realm?"

"The same fate will fall to that one's side as well."

"Do you, my brethren, see an end?"

"Not a one."

"Then…"

"Hyrule, her hope will be lost."

"As will her freedom be."

**III**

Midna finally fell, her headdress vanishing with a quick wisp of black mist, returning back to where it belonged. Even when she went through all that, Link hardly faltered. She didn't even get to touch him with her magic, the sword kept interfering as did the still moving black mist above them. All the while the Shadow had cackled away as if such a fight between good friends was just so amusing to one's eyes.

"Ah, what a good fight and change you have made prior hero." The Shadow smirks, cackling finally said and done. It lifts its head slightly, gesturing to him. "You know, if you came with me. The people in this world would fall to their knees, finding out just how much that they truly needed you. Finding out just how much different you are from their first weak little Hero. They'll hit realization, no doubt, but for that to happen you will need to side with my master." It holds out a hand this time, fingers out stretched as it stands between the fallen Midna and the sick, Heroic Link. "If you join us, you will be a tool no longer. After all, you and master are alike. He feels your pain just as you feel your own and vice versa. If you come, you will finally meet your true self." Its arm stretches farther, Link hesitating as he glances behind the Shadow to Midna. As if fate had wished it to be, she's unconscious. Unable to cry out, unable to utter a hope that he will listen. Unable to reach out for him. To plead for him to stay. To think.

With a growl the hero lifts his freehand, taking hold of the Shadow's own. It grins even wider, lifting up its other hand just to snap its fingers. A simple snap of the fingers that brings forth a sudden whirlwind of darkness. "Well thought out decision, Hero." It hisses darkly, the dark whirlwind swirling faster as it shuns out the sun of the village. "Now, let us go meet master."

**III**

Link stumbles once the Shadow releases him, his body crashing painfully to the stone floor. He leans over, retching in a painful manner.

"I apologize, I haven't teleported two people, let alone a light dweller, in a while." The Shadow chuckles, appearing beside him with a mere flurry of black squares. Link replies with a trembling nod, a wince cracking through his expressionless face. He continues to wince, pushing himself back up, grabbing his still hissing sword in the process. "Being all mute now? Fine then. Come along, I'll introduce you to master." With that it turns, heading up the faintly crumbling stairs of the Twilight castle.

He follows, glancing for only a brief moment at the fallen statue of himself. Reverberating a growl he tears his eyes from it, quickening his pace. _'That isn't me, but of the Hero I cower behind.'_ His thoughts voice angrily.

They saunter through the giant doors, their presence being greeted instantly by a menacing voice, "You've dared to return you worthless Shadow?" Dark demands, leaning carelessly in the throne, his voice bouncing angrily off the throne room walls. Without answer the Shadow continues to walk forward with Link at his heels. "No answer?" Another growl. Finally the Shadow stops, bowing briskly before going up once more. With a sweeping hand it gestures behind him. Link standing still and silent as can be, his devoid eyes boring into its master's crimson pair. "Shadow, who is that? Explain yourself!"

"Master, I promise, it is neither a hallucination nor a trick. I was in the process of following your orders. I wounded the hero to a great extent but that Twili princess had helped him to escape, as I said. I managed to follow them, you see, but she dared to get in my way of finishing your orders. After we had clashed for just a few minutes, he had appeared. Still being weak though being different. I believe my last attack on him touched his heart. Master, this is the Hero, Link."

"Don't call me that!" Link growled, his voice easily matching Dark's own. The sudden intensity of his voice made both of the Shadows flinch, their snowy eyes facing the boy's angry pair.

The usual look of anger subsides, Dark now scooting off the throne in a curious fashion. This was surely… odd. "What, your name?" He asks in a softer tone, hiding a mischievous grin. If the Shadow was right then-

"That's not my name. Just some Hero's name that I was born to cower under, it's not my own. Never has been and never will be."

"Changed? I see what you mean." Dark sighs in obvious pleasure, bringing a grin forth. He heads down the stairs, the Shadow quickly stepping aside once its master stops right at the boy's front. "Then tell me why, look alike, you have changed? Why are you shunning such a name?"

"Don't you feel the same? Being mirrored after not only me but the dark side of some Hero? Though you aren't used like a simple tool that can be easily thrown away and replaced. You don't have to follow some path already set to you." Another growl, darker than the last.

Dark laughs at this, those hazed eyes making it all the more amusing. "So you decide to side with the likes of me?" His grin widens. "Well, don't I feel honored to have the one I was to resemble here at my side and so willingly too."

"You know, I'm sure that if we team up, then those light dwellers and even the shadows of this realm will see how much that they have misunderstood. After all you do want to show them how wrong they were of you right? That you would sit still and be a good boy, always doing what they say, and always holding a forced smile? You aren't a doll or a tool…" Dark pauses, still grinning as wide as ever, "or do you wish that you still were? If so, then you truly are a weak one. It's bad enough that you've slandered the Hero's name by not listening, but you are even weaker than the Hero? You want to surpass the Hero right? Then you definitely must prove yourself." He walks around Link, placing a cold, shadowy hand atop the boy's shoulder. "You want to avenge those that used you and threw you away, even to those people that did the same to your ancestors. They all were too weak and blind to realize what you have somehow managed to see."

"What I've…"

"But first you must become stronger, but to do that you have to know who the real enemy is. It's not me, it never has been. Without my help, you would still be a puppet for their doings and would be blind to the truth that has stared at you and your ancestors for generations. After all even though I am darkness and you are _Light_, that does not mean that we must fight. Night and day are always working together, so why haven't we?" It smiles, spinning the boy around so that they can properly face once more. "With us together, the realms have no choice but to pay attention, right?"

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**This chapter makes me worry like crazy. Is it lacking detail? Is it too abrupt in story-telling? Gah *rips hair out***

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-5 Pages**


	11. Chapter 10

**I'm not even going to voice my self-consciousness about this chapter...**

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**-Chapter 10-**

**********__************__****This Chapter has been re-edited (4-20-13)**

* * *

Link, or Light- as Dark and his minions liked to call him by—sets himself to leaning against the wall, eyes closed to the dim lighting of the candles. The pain had not lessened at all. Oddly, it seemed to increase whenever he questioned his being here. Each time he did so, each time he felt fear, and each time he attempted to rebel against his thoughts that voice always came to "reason." Repeating those words that he had already begun to detest, despise, hate.

_'I'm not a tool. Never again will I result to such a thing. Ever.'_

"Light." He flinched from the sudden sound, staggering away from the wall only to be caught by a shadowed hand. He lifted his clouded eyes, expecting one of the Shadows but found himself startled by the sight of the crimson eyes of Dark. The counterpart smirks at his reaction, releasing the boy's shoulder before speaking in that chilling type of voice, such a voice… so painful to his ears, "Your being has not changed. You seem… pained?"

The deranged Hero, Light flinched at this. What, was he becoming weak? _'His words… Something… About them?'_ He shook his head, grimacing at the movement. "What of it?" He growls, twisted thoughts shaking away the feeling.

"You're weak." Spoken so simply.

"Worry over something or someone else. I'm fine."

"So almost falling flat on your light dweller face is seen as fine, in Hyrule?"

"I'm. Fine."

"I beg to differ. If you continue in your present state then my… darkness will continue to weaken your body until there is nothing left of you. After all, as I'm sure my Shadow said, our blade is the bane of light's existence. With that pathetic Master Sword sent to its original form, ours are even stronger than before so that makes our blade's power much more deadly to the beings of light. Obviously." Dark flashes a grin, finding clear amusement in Light's annoyance. "You are ending up as what Hyrule wishes to be, you know. They would be glad to find that their ex-hero is too weak to find his revenge on them. You'd just be seen as more of a forgotten puppet to them."

"S-Shut up! I'm fine! I can handle myself, thank you!" Light sounds off with a darkened growl, taking a bold step toward Dark.

"Is that so? Then why are you trembling?"

Light narrows his gaze, confused. Trembling? No. "Are you perhaps blind? I'm not tremble-…" His voice trails off, his body indeed trembling uncontrollably. Wincing he falls forward, a shivering pain eating away at what little energy he managed to hide away. Dark catches him, grin still visible.

"And with that I bet you are feeling already weaker than before, I'm sure the pain is truly unbearable." Light froze, Dark's words quickly becoming true. The pain was becoming unbearable. It had not struck him out like this since he had gotten up in Kakariko, so why now? More confused, and now worried, he attempted to push away from Dark. His darkened clone only embraced him in turn, aiding the shivering pain. "You know, I can get rid of this, but that would mean that you would become a dweller of darkness." Dark's voice slips into a whisper, his very tone striking up the streams of pain even more.

_'D-Dweller… of…'_ Again that worry consumed him. The conflicting emotions stirring the pain to a higher level. Even the dark corner of his mind that pushed at the useless emotions brought the pain. "H-How?"

Dark chuckled, red eyes beaming. This truly was… "It is complicated, easy for me but rather difficult for you. You see, you will be in a lot of pain once the process is finished. After all, you are changing your being and your legend's line. Even so once you change you may just become stronger- no corruption pulling you down, no legend in the way, and aid in proving yourself and those others that you are not a mere puppet to be played with… and then nothing will be able to stand in your way."

**III**

Light flinched, a numb feeling overflowing throughout him. Finally the pain was subsiding, but only by a mere wave. What Dark had said was indeed true- it was and is painful. Shifting from light to darkness was no easy task. He turns on his side, flinching as that closed feeling slams against him even more.

The procedure of turning a light dweller to darkness was seen as forbidden unless the dweller gave consent. Once after that, the dweller was made to sleep. As the dweller slept, a dark curse mark would be placed inside the dweller. A mark that burned of blood red, its body of vicious curves and points. This mark was the one and only that had the ability to slowly corrupt its host, sucking away their prior self like a parasite sucking away life's blood. It was like an insecticide for the dweller's soul. Killing it, slowly but surely.

Already Light could feel his questionable thoughts weakening, backing away gradually to the back of his mind. It was surrounding him with a closed off feeling, everything that he had cherished fading away to the very void that now ate away at his insides. Only as he closed his eyes once more did he hint the slightest edge of fear and doubt, only then did he hear a faint whisper amongst his pained thoughts, _"Hero of Time, you have fallen to disgrace. You have soiled your line, your people, and your heart; therefore, you shall fall…"_ the voice drifted off the forgotten depths of his mind, the emotions that came with it following the same fate.

_'I am nothing.'_

**III**

Dark gives a laugh, smiling at the bowed Shadows before him, "Oh please, our _Hero_ will be all but gone by an hour's pass. There is no need to worry about him anymore. I can't believe you even utter such a thing either way, cannot you feel this power?" Dark grins, lifting his hands so that a dark aura flares up from his very palms. The mist leaks to the floor, a scent of decay striking the air. "There were once two versions of the Hero of Time, but now there is only one version. With him at our side we are invincible because the light's balance is broken. Hyrule is now weak, the goddesses and spirits thrived on the Hero of Time's light for all these years and not once has this happened! Haha, we've made history. Brilliant change."

He spun around, a twisted kind of happiness evident on his face. "All we have to do is continue to blind our dear _Light_. Even so, the dark curse mark will surely make that part easy for us. Now enough with your own doubting, I have Light for that presently. Just continue with your orders and set Hyrule on fire. Burn it all! I want their hopes, dreams, and life ripped to pieces. I want them on their knees! I want the skies to rain with blood."

The two Shadows stood from their bowing, nodding once more as they turned. Once turned did they vanish from the throne room, a silent eagerness whispering about their being. Just as their master, they held that twisted look of happiness. After all, it was thanks to their mortal enemy that they were even able to wreak havoc to their heart's content. To be able to spill so much blood without a worry to trouble their determination.

**III**

Midna cringes, the Sages' gaze not at all pleasant despite their eyeless faces. "W-What did you expect of me to do? Kill him!" She shot back in her shrill voice. The Sages only hummed for a moment in response about the table, their bit of silence making the Twili queen shake with evident worry.

"Well, he must be now. He is no longer the Hero, but an enemy." A sage to the left of the line of them spoke, clear despair in its voice. With their brother's informative voice, their humming ceased. They faceless masks looking to the room's ceiling in a worried manner.

"Yes, quite. Not one has been able to find a turning point from changing from one of light to one of darkness." Another spoke in response.

"The fallen Hero must be killed then otherwise his broken balance will-"

"Killed? No! I won't have such a thing happen!" She shouts once more, her flaming hair aiding in displaying her rage. "I cannot believe how you have already lost hope on a Hero who has been in the line of legends for years, since creation of Hyrule and even the idea of creating my world!"

"But the goddesses have already spoken their word. Now there are two, our corrupted Hero and a twisted copy of the Hero. That shakes the worlds' balance and weakens our beings." The sage who had spoken prior speaks, musical voice finally rising to match Midna's own voice.

The imp's eyes threaten tears once more, a look of disbelief quite evident. "You've already lost hope so easily in Link? He needs our hope more than ever now! That dark copy twisted him, he needs us aiding him as we have been doing within the time of the Twilight Realm's fall! Are you all so blind to not see that!"

"The goddesses have spoken their word and their word is law. The doubles must meet their demise or worse things are to come."

"And if you dare to defy the name of the goddesses then return to your own realm and do as you wish, but we will not have it where we go against the goddesses." Another sage speaks up, adding only in Midna's anger.

She flails her arms up in the air, growling the whole while, "No wonder those thoughts took over Link so easily! So be it then. Go hide behind your so-called 'mothers' of creation and just watch your world fall around you while your only hope is trapped amongst evil's palms. All the while your goddesses could have helped Link and could have saved him, but instead they simply let it happen as if they watched for merriment. For that, go die a blood and pain filled death for all I care!" With that the imp twirled back, a menacing hole appearing above all of them in the still darkening sky. It let out a low dong sound, literally, and lit up with the palest of greenish-blues. Swirls of black squares lit up against its circular edges, swarming around the very entrance to the warp hole. "Such pathetic sages, not even thinking of Hyrule or its people even the slightest. Especially not even thinking of those who served Hyrule for years on end. You are nothing but children! Children playing with their dolls and fighting over swings!"

"We have heard your hate filled words, young princess. However, you yourself are being clouded in judgment. Your emotions are becoming unstable. If you continue in this manner then…"

"Oh shut up with your stupid little warning you stupid little, glowy, cowardly, floating, old people!" With that she snapped her fingers, giving out one last snarl before vanishing in a frantic flurry of black squares. The squares soared upward, striking the very insides of the warp hole that soon vanished once every last square entered into its depths.

As the warp hole vanished and the sages let their gazes fall onto one another, did Hyrule taste its very first bloodshed. A bloodshed that held the origins of the very beginning, one of the legends of prophecy- a princess.

**III**

Zelda trips, her eyes frantically searching among the dark for the ceremonial sword that she had so carelessly dropped. She set a gloved hand on its hilt, but to her despair was it torn away from her grasp. Letting out a shaking gasp, she scooted back even more amongst the floor. The Shadow's blood red eyes were glowing so menacingly, she could see them so easily amongst the darkened room. "E-Even if you ki-kill me now, it will do n-no good!" She cries, the red eyes coming closer.

Ever since that Shadow had condemned her within her own castle, she had been strategizing her escape. Even as she did, she had not expected the Shadow to come back to kill her so quickly. Its attack had taken her off guard.

"How so?" The eyes stopped coming closer, the footsteps stopped echoing.

'_T-That… voice…'_

"I asked a question." The voice growls, not sounding so much like one of the Shadows that had captured her at all.

Feeling a sudden burst of courage, the princess managed herself up from the floor. "You… you don't sound like the Shadows… you sound more like… Link."

"Link? Link!" Zelda was thrown back, a hand at her throat. "That's not my name, it never was!"

Struggling against Link's hand, Zelda spoke, "W-What are you saying! That is your name!"

"No! I'm done cowering behind some old hero's shadow! I'm done being dragged around and told what to do!" He tightened his hold on Zelda's neck, her breath beginning to shake even more. "I am done being Link. Link is a weak tool, one that will be thrown away at the slightest thought. I'm nothing like that now. I'm stronger and I have so much more freedom, while you are nothing but weak and on a leash created by the goddesses that only watch you move along- watch you either live or die a silent or perhaps even painful death. For all these years they've forced our path to be the one they want us to take. Nothing is ours, nothing ever has been!"

"T-That's no-not…"

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**Fun Fact(s):**

**-Almost done!**

**-4 Pages**

**-Why can Midna warp now? Well, she can warp as long as it's just her and not a Light Dweller or another creature with her "darkness."**

**-I have always sorta disliked the Sages in Twilight Princess o3o**


	12. Chapter 11

**This was a more recent chapter so... not much was changed as was in the past chapters.**

* * *

**-Chapter 11-**

**************__************__****This Chapter has been re-edited (4-20-13)**

* * *

Light gasped, drawing back as his eyes finally focused. "Z-Z…" His breath escaped him, his world blurring back together all over again. Again he took a few staggering steps backward amongst the darkened floor, again did that horrid smell fill his nostrils. Blood. Death. Finally his back touched the wall, his eyes blurring and becoming clear in a frantic motion of colors. Only as his breathing quickened did he let out a cry, falling to his knees. Only for a moment did he stay, cowering on the floor like an infant, until the realization was ripped away from his conscious. Slowly was his guilt being dragged away from his swarm of emotions, slowly was the doubt and fear once more being taken from him altogether.

With easing breath Light picked himself up, glancing down at his stained hands. For only a moment did he falter but then the thoughts were ripped from his view once more. The feeling that became absent only throwing him farther and farther into a fog of confusion.

"Princess!" With that one voice the room filled with light, erupting so abruptly that Light himself almost fell backward with surprise. "Princess!" The voice screamed, gaining volume. His bloodied eyes focused once more, falling on the soldier who had spoken. The soldier was already at the corpse's side, willing it to live, to breathe.

Seeing this very scene before him, Light couldn't help but laugh. His thoughts and purposes so distorted now, his laughter starting and ending for no apparent reason only to continue once more. The soldier jumped, startled. He glanced form the princess that he had been chosen to guard, eyes glaring through the limited view that his helmet visor allowed him. "You-You!" He cried out, standing as he brandished his blade.

The corrupted Hero only laughed, taking no heed to the soldier who even dared to take a step forward. Though once the soldier was only a few feet away from him, sword ready to slice through his very being, did he move. His move was made so sudden and yet in such a simple manner. With a mere flick of his hand the soldier was thrown backward, Light appearing before the very soldier only to hold him by the throat. "You remind me of a weak, childish tool I once knew!" The corrupted man laughed aloud, truly amused by the feeling of fear that the soldier had so quickly released. So frantic was he now to get away from this man, from his lifeless eyes and sickly pale skin. So wide were his eyes that they could be seen through the armor visor's slits.

"Now…" Light's laugh died away, his voice falling to a low growl, "die." At this word he smiled jovially. So quick was the smile to appear for it soon died with the falling of blood.

Releasing the soldier, Light drew back from the now two corpses that littered the floor. With a wavering glance he looked down at his hands, ever so stained. Again he looked to the corpses, his composure faltering ever so slightly. _'Z-Zel… Blood… Death… Killed…'_ Was all that he could manage to grasp through the fog, all of it holding a weak meaning.

With a sigh of sudden boredom he turned his back to those he had killed, flicking an arm to the darkest of corners that stood in the room. With just a flick of his hand a spiraling dark hole emerged, echoing with a mass of whispers. One last glance over his shoulder he could already hear more shouts from the halls, soon more soldiers would come. For now he would leave them be. "For now." He laughed at his words, walking into the darkness only to be completely enveloped by it as it spiraling mass reached out for him. Cascading over him and then vanishing once it had consumed every bit of him.

**III**

Dark's grin widened, expressing the joy that he felt straight down to his core. "You've done quite well, _Light_." He praised, chuckling in such a sinister manner. Light only nodded in a rather dazed way, eyes staring silently at his hands. His inverted copy gave a growl, siding the clearly troubled Light. "What?"

"Blood…"

"Yeah. It is, huh?" Dark spoke with sarcastic amazement. "So what?"

"I killed…" Again Light's voice trailed away, as if the very words he had wanted to speak were being ripped from him as well.

"And? Why should this bother one of the Darkness?" Dark questioned, taking hold of Light's arms he pulled him forward. Light staggered slightly, eyes finally lifting from his bloodied hands. "After all, you wanted to be strong did you not? Unless you'd rather be a useless tool, a pawn? Those who died by your hands today deserved such a death. Unlike you, they're blind and weak to not have seen just how they are truly treated."

_'But Zelda… and the soldier… innocent.' _Light's thoughts choked, words breaking before even able to echo within themselves. Growling to himself he freed his hands from Dark, turning completely around from the inverted hero. "What, you're wishing to become all those things that you've abhorred?" Dark asked, mimicking Light's own growl. The man only shook his head, finally making his way through the Twilight Castle's hall. "Hey! Where are you going?" This time Dark raised his voice, a bit perturbed by Light's faltering attitude. At the moment he could only think of a _"What if…"_ question. What if his Shadows were right to worry over this degraded Hero of theirs?

Light turned, bloodied hands clenched at his sides. "Must I have you're okay just to simply go to my chambers?" He snapped, turning back around and quickening his pace. This time as Dark called to him he didn't even bother stopping. He needed to think. This foggy mind of his was unnerving, that much he could manage to read without difficulty. All he needed was to be alone. Yes. That was another thing that he had managed to grasp clearly out of those jumbled thoughts.

Reaching his chambers he briskly entered, closing the door with a rather loud bang. "I have solitude now. All I need is to think." Nearly above a whisper. With a step away from the door he stopped in mid-step. Even the thoughts behind his decision were beginning to cloud over, beginning to fade away.

"No!" He cried, falling to the floor like he had done in that room where he had murdered the princess. He let out a growl, clawing at his face. He was well aware now of his faltering thoughts. So aware was he that it was beginning to get on his nerves! Oh the nerves! He clawed his face until he felt his own blood spill and only then did that make him gaze downward at his hands once again.

For a moment his child-like rant had become silent, even his breathing became silent. As he gazed downward at his hands his eyes slowly widened as if hitting a tragic realization. In a burst of fear he threw his hands down to the wooden floor, cursing with every breath that escaped him. Strewing out words of madness as he shook his head. No. He couldn't have. No. He would never! Such a thing was horrid! Such a thing was…

"I-I killed Zelda… I killed Zelda! What-what have I-I done!" He cried. With a burst of tears he fell to the floor, the very realization driving him to insanity. Already his clouded mind was trying to take this from him, was trying to rip it away. Just the very attempt at keeping this realization above the mist was tiring him, angering him, and saddening him.

"What have I done!"

**III**

The king of Hyrule staggered, his own soldiers having to catch their troubled King from falling. Already his eyes were becoming red from the news of his daughter's death. Tears were on the edge of being spilt, just like the blood. "You must be spouting lies!" He shouted, however; his voice fell to that of a whisper, his body on the verge of trembling. After his wife died, Zelda was all he had left and now…

"My lord, I promise you it is not lies." The head soldier spoke, despair clear in his voice.

"Then who has committed such a crime? Who then!" He shouted once more thought this time his voice did not weaken. He raged at his words, jabbing an already shaking finger at the air.

"Your highness, we believe it is the land's present threat. You see, the soldier who was killed along with the princess was still alive when we came in, however; he was only alive enough to give us word of the perp-…"

"Who is it? Who killed my daughter! Who! I demand an answer!"

"The Hero of Time. Link."

The throne room stood in shocked silence. The denizens seeming to freeze with acknowledgement. This news was hardly ever expected to be uttered. Yes, they had heard well of what had happened to Hyrule's Hero, but this… this was… unbelievable. To think that the famous legend would…

"Link…" The king murmured as he collapsed into his throne, a trembling hand removing his golden crown. Silently he gazed at his own reflection amongst the golden surface. Disbelief was one word to put where his thoughts were roaming at; he too found it truly unbelievable. Unacceptable. Quite unnerving indeed.

Finally the king rose, shoving the crown back atop his graying head. "Then find this distorted Hero for he has committed an unforgivable crime, a grave one indeed! Though he was a past hero, he is no longer. For this crime he will meet the same end as he gave my daughter. Death!" The silence thickened as the king jabbed his finger once more into the air. He growled this decree with such surprising volume and strength. His hatred for the Hero and his actions were quite evident. "Find him, right away, all of you! Let him pay for his crime, for the hurt that he has set within Hyrule's very heart!" He growled again, swinging his arm about the throne room. He was roaring now. Roaring with utter madness. So mad to the point of despair that he was broken.

"And if Hyrule's past hero dares set foot on this castle or even of Hyrule's lands in my sight, may he be punished by his bloodied hands by the goddesses themselves!"

**III**

The three glowing orbs circled about one another within their white void, clearly troubled at something. All three racing around only to stop amongst the other and then begin their chaotic trail. Finally did they stop amongst each other in finality, this time no orb daring to fly once more on the path of worry.

"Our children are being ripped asunder." The green orb cried aloud, a musical note coming forth for its voice.

"And are becoming tarnished and strung as puppets." Cried the second orb, a bright blue.

"All driven by the darkened legend." Cried the third, a dark red orb.

"It's my beloved child's faltering heart that has shaken the lands and balance so." The green orb cried even louder, its musical voice breaking into a soft sob. So soft was this sob that is sounded as mere wind, echoing gently in the white void.

"Only because of your child's _shadowed lies_. From this, we can only see one thing- the legend of the Heroes of Time have fallen. They are of no use to aid our other children now."

"No! I will not accept that! My child has merely been blinded and full of lies!"

"Your own words are full of disdain! They are full of lie-…"

"My sisters!" The blue orb shouted, the musical note breaking at a high pitch. Its glowing light pulsed, as if expressing its annoyance. "Enough of these words of bickering and such, it's distasteful!"

"But sister, your child was killed by the hero!" The red orb shouted back, mimicking the blue orb's voice and pulse of light.

At these words the blue orb burst out with its magnificent blue light, the orb finally taking shape to its true form. It bulged, arms and legs sprouting out from the edges of it as bright, long, blue hair sprouted from behind. Only as the arms and legs stretched outward and under did the waist and head take shape. With a final burst of blue light, a blue woman appeared. Like a Hylian her ears were drawn back and pointed yet were larger than the average ear, the cartilage of this ear pierced from edge to edge with glowing earrings.

With a quick whisp of hair she angled herself slightly, acting as if lounging on a couch now. As her hair circled her like strands would do under water, she pointed to her sisters that still remained as orbs. "The hero is troubled, weak, and confused. The darkness has set that young child in a daze of pain and despair. Though that child had committed murder to my own, beloved child I do not find the hero at fault. For did you not see the hero's desperate need to reach out of that dazed mind? They know of how their thoughts are fading, how they are becoming unlike themselves. Even so, did you not see the first sign of corruption? The sword that was handed down by the first Hylian, as it died the hero weakened. As the darkness struck at the hero did the hero weaken and become corrupted. Such is why the very hero awoke in a daze, the hero's weakened state feeding off the corruption that slowly tarnished the hero's very being."

The orbs stayed silent for a moment as if taking their sister's long reasoning in, trying to comprehend it in some way. Finally with a burst of light they too formed as identical women, the only difference being their colored surface.

"You are hopeful dear sister?" The red woman asked.

"Quite. From the very beginning the hero has done nothing but serve us three and Hyrule and its people. From every burden that we have let pass us, the hero has dealt with and conquered with silent grace. Yes, the hero was slowly becoming withered and burdened by all these tasks and sights of depression, but…" she trailed for a moment, as if thinking of her next few words carefully, "the hero still continued forward no matter what. Now, even with darkness grasping at the hero's core, _he _is trying to break free so as to continue. _He_ is trying to break from the fog, from the lies, and from his sullied being."

"But my child is stained. Every breathing thing is against my child." The green woman cried once more, worry clear on her porcelain looking face.

"Yes, this is dreadfully true, my sister. Yet we cannot interfere with their decision. We promised from the very beginning by offering our ancient tools to the first set of children that we would not hinder in their will. We cannot force the thoughts to turn around, the actions to be taken back or to be reenacted, or even the events to be re-written."

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**Fun Fact(s):**

**-Listenin' to Icona Pop - I Love It XD**

**-Fearing this to be too abrupt**

**-4 Pages**


	13. Chapter 12

_******"This was my first ever fanfiction... EVER... but... now I must end it. Kind of makes me sad... I don't like "ending" things because that just leaves you hanging, y'know? Anyway... Thanks for everyone who have given me reviews and have been patient from the very beginning! Feel free to land me a review (and if you have any questions that are not listed below about the fanfiction and whatnot feel free to ask)!"**_

******^Is what I had before this version of re-editing. Again, I didn't change much at all in this Chapter. I really hope this doesn't seem rushed (because it isn't... I know how long it took for me to create the first version of it XD)  
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**-Chapter 12-**

_**This chapter, the last to be re-edited entirely (4-20-13)**_

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As Light's tears finally faltered, his eyes still remained on his bloodied hands. The realization that his mind was trying to capture from him was becoming much stronger now. What had he done? He had done the most degrading thing that a legend, a hero, and a friend could ever do. "I-I'm…" his words trembled, still feeling a weak tug that his dark self gave at the oncoming words, "I'm a monster. I'm despicable! Death would be better than this!" He cursed at this, bloodied fist banging into the wooden floor. Only as he did this did he become utterly silent. _'No… I deserve this much. This is my punishment… death would be a reward for what I've done…'_

Finally the tarnished hero sat up from his position on the floor, finally did he wipe away at the blood on his trousers. "But why have I let myself come to this?" He mutters, gazing down at his soiled clothing and sickly, pale skin. "Surely if I act like this, I'd never accept for my being to be shifted to darkness."_ 'Perhaps I've gone mad… utterly and terribly mad.'_ He shook his head at this mere thought.

With a forced sigh he scooted his behind to the far wall, letting the back of his head bang against the rock that aligned it. "If I am mad then why do I remember so clearly of my arrival here? Why do I remember so clearly of myself giving an okay to change my allegiance? Why do I remember the pain so clearly when I was…" Right as his words trailed off he shot up from the floor, eyes bewildered at what he was about to say.

"I don't remember waking up…" He muttered. "I don't remember ever getting up once Midna warped us!" Another tragic realization, well tragic enough. Finding this he began to pace the room, turning sharply at ever corner that it held. "I remember voices, Midna's the most. I remember another's… like Renado's and his daughter's? And another…" His feet stopped abruptly at his bed, his eyes staring at the bed's covers in such a frightened manner, "a Shadow's voice."

From here he fell back to the floor. All of this thinking was indeed tiring as well as worrying. Again he gave a glance to his stained hands. "No doubt even the goddesses have cast me aside for the crimes I've committed." He clenched at his hands. Okay, he was himself now- somewhat.

"I can still think clearly but the process is tiresome." He growled, feeling like a weak child. Why must it be so hard just to be himself within the darkness? After all he was aligned with light since birth but perhaps that just made everything more difficult. "But what now? I've realized but for how long will I stay awake? There's nothing for me to do now except…" he voice died off, the very thought making him cringe. Reluctantly his thoughts had surfaced over his homeland. Hyrule. Ordon. Home. Again he had to lean over something, the wall, so he wouldn't fall on the floor with the realization. Hyrule was corroding, it was stained. She, his home, was falling and it was all because of him. Because of him Zelda died, because of him Hyrule faltered in breath, and because of him the world was in chaos.

'_I broke the balance, the trust, the hope, the peace… everything.'_

He ripped his body from the wall and stumbled, his face portraying his sudden burst of anger. He had done this. He had done all of it. True he had been tricked, his inner heart revealed- the thoughts that he had shoved far back in the depths of his mind. "I'm so weak!" He cried, his voice choking with anger.

After his hate filled growl he stayed silent, his eyes glaring at his bedchamber's door. It was all his fault and he had been the origin of all of it. Even so, perhaps… "I can end it. End it with one final blow."

**III**

He trudged up the castle steps, leaving a wake of death behind him. All over Castletown the Hyruleans were moaning, their breath shallow as their blood colored the streets once more. They all thought that he was deranged, that he was now a monster, but behind his mask he cringed. He hated this and wanted it to be over… to end. With these thoughts he managed to hover over the darkened cloud that ripped his thoughts away. At first his mind had faltered once he faced Dark, requesting that he go to Hyrule to finish off the sages. With Dark's order his sanity vanished; however, that very sanity was coming back and forth to him. Just the very try at taking hold of that sanity for long periods of times was painful and exhausting. Still, he held on to it as he tightened his grip on the bloody sword.

The castle doors crashed open, the stench of death leaping in as it brought forth the owner of that very death. Light stopped, his feet already staining the red carpet.

"Link." He looked up from the floor, the sages already gathered amongst the throne room. _'So, they saw me coming.'_ All around Hyrule's soldiers stood with spears, shields, and swords in hand. They all stayed at the ready, silence resounding about them. Even the king was in this very room, standing behind the sages that were just as well surrounded by metal clad soldiers. Behind them floated Midna, her eyes wide. From where he stood he couldn't tell if she was crying or not, but he shouldn't care. No, he had to keep this act up, he just had to… for the sake of Hyrule.

But she looked so scared.

"You have committed treason against the royal family, hyrule, and its citizens. You have even soiled your ancestors and their legacies. For that you will be punished," the room echoed with the king's decree, "death."

If he was not intent on this end, he would have been trembling. He would have fallen to his knees and begged for forgiveness. He would have, if he had not looked up to the king right in the eyes, ignoring Midna's presence entirely. The king was seething with hatred, his daughter killed by a young man who he had trusted and come to love as a son. Midna, consumed with grief, would soon become sick if any more worry or fear were placed on her. Hyrule would continue to fall if these two were to fall ill with emotions. Then nothing would be left of either realm.

Light smiled, forcing every ounce of darkness that hid amongst his thoughts to widen his grin. "We shall see." He laughed, his own dark chuckle scaring him.

He charged, heading to the nearest flank of soldiers the guarded the sages. With his sword raised high, the room came to life. The soldiers spread wide and came at him all at once. Their metal clanging against one another as they intercepted him before he could even manage a flinch.

They seemed to all slow as they got closer to him as if hoping he were only toying with them, that he was still blessed by light. _'End it. End it with one blow!'_ He spun around, his sword slicing at their metal armor. Just from this the soldiers decided: he would not change. It was impossible. He was lost.

He was dead.

Feeling a rapier drive deep in his back, he arched backward as his hands lost sight of the Master Sword's hilt. It dropped, its fall sounding louder than any of the weapons being drawn in the room. Another pain stabbed him in his side, the hot feeling of blood pouring out like a river of rubies. Then another and another, the pain doubling over as it drove him to and from his sanity of light. Swords through his stomach, spears through his sides, and a fist to his face. Already everything looked like roses, blood pouring like a mad man over his eyes and the rest of his flesh.

Yet his Darkness ate at the pain. All the while it forced a smile to cover his face, forced a laugh to speak out against each attack. He hated it. Feared it. Even as a blade grazed his face, the edge plunging into his eye… he laughed.

_'End it.'_

"Stop." The attacks, the spill of blood, the pain ceased in that one moment.

"Make way." The same voice.

The swords that were still deep inside Light were pulled out, him giving a cry of response as he was finally able to fall to his knees. The smile and laugh now gone, leaving him to drop on his knees in a solitude state of mind. Exhausted and in pain he leaned over, heaving and coughing up blood that clenched in his gut. The taste of blood burned his throat as he finally gave a weak wipe of a hand to his mouth. The gesture to rid of the blood did little, his blind eye and every other wound on his body leaking with blood.

"Look up to me Link." That voice… Reluctantly he did look up, not at all surprised to see the owner of the voice. The king stood before him, the ceremonial blade in his hand. It gave a white glimmer as it was drawn inches from his face, making his bloody vision blur even more. "Any last words?" The king asked, his voice cracking with… _Remorse? Anger? _

"I-I'm…" he struggled, the words just as painful as the wounds, "I'm sorr-sorry."

Just by these words the room fell silent. Not a breath sounded. Those words, who would guess that they would come from this soiled Hero? This traitorous man who was on the verge of death? "You're sorry?" The king asked, his voice evident with surprise.

Light, no Link, managed a pained smile. His one good eye looking a bit brighter with light then it had since he had turned from his nature. "En-End it. E-End it w-wit-with one bl-blow."

The king stayed silent as ever, the ceremonial blade still inches from Link's head. It was clear that the king could not bring himself to do it. Not now, not to a boy who had been like his son. Not to a boy who had been through so much. No, he couldn't. He wouldn't do-…

"Please." Unlike his words prior, Link's voice sounded less gravely and pained. His smile even grew, becoming brighter with each try. Sadly that smile and hopeful voice was torn away. Again he leaned over, heaving. The Darkness was getting angry at him, the mark in his gut coiling about him in a strangling gesture.

Already he was tired. Tired. Pained. Confusion threatening to overcome and dip him back in that accursed fog. Sleep was all he needed in the end. All he dreamed of at night when he lay in silent torment. Peace.

As Link managed a weak glance to the king, Darkness took over once more. It was a heavy feeling, pressing against his eyelids as he saw the ceremonial blade glisten when it passed his one good eye like a dancing bird. The feeling, somewhat peaceful as it glazed over him, made him smile. The only thing that troubled him as he felt his being fall to the stained floor, was Midna's scream. She was screaming his name, crying, and fighting to be at his side.

He would miss her. That's all he could feel as the sounds became mute, the pain dead to his senses. Hahaha, he had ended it. Ended it with one blow. That's all it took.

_"Now you're nothing but a broken puppet."_ The Darkness whispered one last time, tugging at his consciousness. Desiring a place in his mind, dreaming for control once more. Nevertheless, its pull died off just as his fleeting thoughts.

Death was something he deserved, after all.

**III**

"My child, open your eyes." The voice spoke, caressing him. Obeying, his sapphire eyes opened to find a burst of bright, white light enveloping the darkness of his eyelids. He gave a fearful cry as he shielded himself from the light's gaze. Only as nothing seemed to happen did he lower his arm. "W-what?" He whispered, his voice echoing loud and clear within the realm of white. For only he stood in its light with the only thing to really stare at to be the three dancing orbs about him.

"You've been through much, my child." The same voice spoke, a green light dancing away from him. The other orbs followed, twirling like frightened birds as they collided with one another. Their increased glowing doing little to change the brightness of the realm.

"G-Goddesses…" He gasped, almost tripping over himself as he jumped backward.

Indeed, the three goddesses of Hyrule floated in front of him in all of their glory. Their identical bodies floating in color side by side. Only the green goddess seemed to be the closer of the three.

"Hero of Time, the one who was blessed by light and then stripped of his wings." The red woman spoke, her voice sounding more gruff and unpleasant.

"The boy who wreaked havoc across our lands." The blue sang along, seeming angered by the fact.

"But the stained hero who broke away from darkness and ended it," the green woman added with a smile, "with one blow."

Link looked away from them, glancing at himself. Unlike how he had been in the castle, his clothes were no longer soaked with blood and tattered. In fact, he no longer felt pain or exhaustion. No more guilt or sorrow. No more death… just happiness. "Why am I here?" He asked, throwing all his fuzzy feeling thoughts to the side for a moment.

"My child, I almost lost hope in you as my sister did. We thought you to be dead to us, your heart swallowed by your mirror's being. Yet here you are for you died in light's name. You broke the unstable balance that struck Hyrule when you turned." The green woman's smile seemed to grow wider as she spoke. "We thought you dead but you proved us wrong. You were not dead at all but asleep."

"And for that we shall give you breath." They all spoke in unison, their world brightening as they continued with their words.

"For you have saved us and our people. You have done so much."

The light increased, blinding him to the point where he was forced to cover his eyes.

"For you, after all, are the child blessed by light. The Hero of Time."

**III**

Link awoke, jumping up like a crazed man. He was met with a sharp stab of pain at his heart, a soft hand guiding him down by the back of his head. "Careful Link, you're still hurt." A soft voice giggled. Groggily his one good eye glanced up, that same eye widening with surprise. "Z-Zel?"

"Who else would it be silly?" She grinned, seeming happy that he was awake. "Who else would it be?"

"B-But you… I… and then…" he stumbled, not even able to manage speaking what had happened to her. Perhaps it was from fear or just because his voice refused to…

"I'm fine obviously and before you ask, the Twilight realm's mirror is just as fine."

"What?"

"Oh, you've forgotten? Well, you did have a nasty blow to the head you know." She sighed, frowning with clear worry. With a finger she moved a strand of golden hair behind her pierced ears while gesturing to him with a freehand. "Anyway, you went to Arbiter's Grounds to make sure that the mirror and the sages of the mirror were still safe and sound. After all they never write us or anything. When you didn't return on your accounted day father sent out a search party to go and find you. They found you on Eldin's bridge. You had passed out long ago before they had found you. You were covered in blood, your clothes tattered, and your wounds infected. Even your eye, the left, was damaged. When they brought you here… I was sure…"

"That I was dead." Link finished, his eyes shifting to the wooden ceiling. _'Just like I was in the castle…'_

"Yes," Zelda sighed, seeming pleased that such a thing was no longer true, "and thankfully to the Zora doctors your wounds and the infection are healing. I'm not so sure about your left eye though…" she trailed off, her thankful smile faltering a bit, "All the doctors in the land couldn't help you regain your eye." Her voice broke in a sob as she leaned over him, hugging him.

He cringed but through aching arms he hugged her back, feeling her tears sting his raw face. "It's all right Zelda, I don't need both eyes to live life you know. Who knows, maybe I'll regain my full sight one day. Our goddesses can work miracles after all. I'm just glad that you and Midna are safe, for once."

Safe, alive, and breathing.

And Peace… can't forget about peace.

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**Fun Fact(s):**

**-5 Pages**

**- Didn't the goddesses mention that time could not be re-written or something like that in the previous chapter? Yes, they did but they are goddesses after all and besides what they meant when they said that... they cannot change what has happened if the origin of that conflict still lives. Link was alive and well when they have that conversation. Also, because Link changed to the side of darkness he broke the balance of light and dark that held Hyrule in a realm of pace and prosperity and all that blah stuff. This was something that could not be changed, their power faltering if they could change it and have Link go back in time. Only when Link "came back to live" in realization of what he had done did he break that unstable balance... to a point... it would only go back to normal if he were to be killed for a being that was once light and is now of darkness; it's just too complex to change them back. Link knew this and knew how it must end but he did not intend to meet the goddesses as he did.**

**- What happened to Midna? This is based of Twilight Princess so in the beginning of this fanfiction Midna was in the Twilight Realm (even though in the beginning she is kicked out of her realm once more); therefore, since time has re-written itself to Link getting those wounds from being ambushed to his journey to Arbiter's Grounds or from Arbiter's Grounds... and the fact that with time re-written things have changed, Dark Link no longer can awaken due to that... Midna is still in Twilight being all queen-ly.**

**-Link WAS Killed.**

**- In this chapter's ending, I am only showing how much Zelda cares for Link. The meaning behind my placed relationship between Link and Zelda is when it mentions the king, how he sees Link as his son... therefore, I place Zelda and Link in this story as childhood friends only.**

**-His blind eye will mean something through the rest of the Chapters...  
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	14. Chapter 13

_**Prologue & Chapter 1 have been re-edited (finally... and MAN was that painful o-o), go read them/it and tell me what you think!**_

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**~IMPORTANT Author's Note~**

**I did not expect anyone to mention continuing on the Reviews and honestly... I felt sad of leaving you all off there for an ending so... I will continue it (you all do know that chapter 12 was the final chapter right?). Look at these next bit of Chapters as a continuation, sequel if you will... so they will not have a title for the Chapters as the past ones have. **

**I'm sorry that this is short, but do not fret. I'm still writing on the next Chapter, but taking a quick break to write this all out for the Author's Comment crap and blah blah blah :) **

**I do plan to RE-EDIT the first few chapters of the FF, the content will be the same, but... it will not suck AS bad as it does right now. My first few chapters were too abrupt and lacked specific detail. I hope to fix that when I get the time and replace them with a fixed version.**

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-Chapter 13-

Link studied his palms with the utmost bits of interest that he could gather. It had been a week's passage since he had awakened from his supposed fainting episode on Eldin's bridge. On that day that he awoke, the pain of being stabbed through and through with that ceremonial blade still clawing at his chest, he continuously questioned Zelda as well as the Royal Family servants that ran about with every order from Zelda's lips. With every question he got the same story: he went to check on the Twili mirror, was attacked by (what the search party deemed) a horde of goblins, and collapsed on the bridge of Eldin.

His fingers closed, curling about into fists.

With each question… he almost believed the story himself. Almost. After all everything was back to normal. As it all should be. But then the pain, regret, and memories would lash out at him when he least expect it. Zelda and the servants thought his random bursts of panic and pain-encased cries were from his collapse… not from the thoughts that ran amok in his mind.

"Master Link?" A sing-song voice squeaked from somewhere past the confines of his bed. He glanced up with his good eye, his blind one covered up with a gauzy bandage, and gave a cough of acknowledgement. Good Goddesses were these servants annoying. He just wanted solitude to mull over these accursed thoughts. Yet here he sat, propped up against a mountain of pillows with bandages hugging his naked torso like a child with its moth, and right back under the servants' attention. Unnerving. It reminded him of the palace under Dark's watch… Dark's…

His voice gave an absentminded cry, the stab of pain now focused at his bad eye. His good eyes closed, hands immediately going up to apply a gentle bit of pressure to the bandaged iris. Of course the servant took it upon herself to give a comforting gesture, grasping his shoulder. Her hand only flung back to her side when Link's voice raised an octave, his one eye flashing open to land her a devilish glare. "Stay. Away." He hissed under tense jaws, cursing the odd tone of malice that slipped in with his words. At the recognition did his eyes widen.

Malice? Why, what was there to be ma-

"I-I'm so sorry Master Link, please forgive Elizella." She bowed briskly, repeatedly. "Please pardon Elizella's flaw." She continued to plead, annoyingly speaking in that third person point of view. " Elizella didn't mean any harm to Master Li-…" his second try at a common day's glare silenced her speech.

"Would you please talk like a normal person, honestly." He gave a sigh, allowing his hands to drop away from his eye. Her odd way of speaking had distracted him. The pain was now gone. Almost as if it had never happened. "Please, just leave. I don't need any attention. My bandages are fresh, I'm not hungry, not sleepy, and whatever else Zel is fretting about… so kindly, just leave." He waved her off for effect, keeping at his successful glare that easily resembled a child's own… and just like that, the Elizella girl bowed once more and hurriedly staggered out of the room.

"Honestly." He grumbled, waiting for his room's door to completely shut. "And his majesty and Zelda always wonder why I refuse to live in this castle." Link gave a roll of his eye, wincing at the reminder of his wounds and such that littered his flesh.

His eye fell back to the palm of his hands, the stab of pain creeping on him once again. Luckily it was just a dull throb, but…

Another sight escaped past his lips, his legs falling onto the side of the bed. "I don't care what the doctors say. I'm getting up and going back to Ordon. I can't handle this. I need something to get me off of thinking." He grunted through the spike of pain that bit at his legs, the pain the coiled about his back when he edged off the bed, and the burst of pain that threatened to make him collapse once he staggered up to a full on standing position.

His arms stretched out, flying to anything that would keep him standing. The only thing his left hand could find, however, was the wall of which he gratefully leaned on for the finality of his support. Clinging onto its solid figure for dear life, he creeped along the room to the door that seemed oh so far away.

"I would refrain from doing that, if I were you." A musical voice whispered in his ear. He spun around, crying out as his hand left the only thing that kept him from hitting the ground. His heel slipped, the other leg following in hot pursuit, and he crashed to the floor with a sharp cry. The mid- section of his head crashed onto the floor, bounding roughly with a final thud before allowing his vision to flow into a burst of colorful dots.

"Sorry, sorry." The voice continued, losing its prior tone as a pair of hands took hold of Link's arm. He grimaced at the touch, the fingers pressing firmly against the wound that etched itself on his shoulder blade. "In all decency, it was your doing. You know you're not fit to walk, let alone sit up without some sort of support." The speaker continued as they literally dragged him back toward the bed.

The soul plopped him back on to the bed, ignoring the brief whimper Link snapped out at the action. Clearly annoyed by being put in his place, Link eyed the speaker. "Rusl." He huffed, his jaws locking once more.

Rusl stood in all his glory with full attire and usual gaze. With a cross of his arms he looked even more intimidating than before, despite his gaze that would beat even the most malicious gaze that Link could manage. "You're weak, Link." He spoke bluntly, gesturing to Link to further prove his evident observation. "You shouldn't be up and about or kick out servants as you see fit. If you continue to act like a child then your condition will only worsen."

Link only stirred a bit, somehow managing to crawl back to his mountain of pillows. "Are you going to utter the same story?"

"What are you blabbering on about now?" He questioned, his tone abnormal from the usual Rusl of Ordon.

"What Zelda said when I awoke. Going to Arbiter's Grounds to check on the mirror, getting ambushed, and all that."

"Well, if you would like me to recite the tale to you, I will. What, is your memory failing you now, too?"

He huffed at this, the same old story beginning to drive him insane. It was so damned believable. He wanted to believe it. Relax. Let it all be. Yet… it had happened. It did. He had committed such crimes with ease yet everything was back to normal, literally as if nothing had happened. "No, no. It's just that… well…" he paused, for this is where it got hard. He had tried to word it to Zelda before when she had questioned him on the same exact thing that Rusl questioned him on: was his memory failing him? Yet each time he tried to recite the events that everyone forgot, it didn't happen. His tongue wouldn't work. No, it refused to twist into those words. It refused to speak of something that clearly didn't happen, though it did. "Nothing." He ended in defeat. "I just don't remember that bit is all."

"All right then, I wanted to tell you that Uli, Colin, and the rest of the Ordon lot miss you and wish you a quick period of healing. I do too, but from the way you're acting… you're going to need a long one. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with the Princess," Rusl turned to leave. His clothing swaying with each step he took toward the door. Link eyed him, willing him to turn around and show some sort of negative emotion to what really happened. For really, the regret was eating away at him… to the point where the pain was becoming far too heavy.

_'This must be punishment from the Goddesses. I can't handle this anymore, knowing my sins while everyone else continues to see me as a Hero when… I clearly am not. I mean, I easily let my inverted soul twist my view. I easily embraced the darkness and nearly destroyed everything precious to me.'_

He shook his head abruptly at this, grunting angrily at his straying mind. No, this wasn't a punishment. It was a gift. The Goddesses trusted him again. Hyrule trusted him. Everything was as it should be.

_"Unless you'd rather be a useless tool, a pawn… those who died by your hands today deserved such a death. Unlike you, they're blind and weak to not have seen just how they are truly treated… know who the real enemy is. It's not me, it never has been. Night and day are always working together, so why haven't we?" _

"Stop it."

_"Because you ache. Because you're lost. You're a tool and always will be one. You're just a puppet with a dozen strings, not a one to ever be cut. Your ancestors as well, even your future brethren. If you die another will appear, another will take your place. You will be forgotten, easily mistaken for the newer hero."_

Mistaken. Forgotten. Lost.

_"You. Are. Nothing."_ Nothing. Lost. Forgotten. Mistaken. Tool.

"Shut up!" He roared, his voice shaking the very bed that he was helplessly glued to, his fists pounding into the mass of sheets that layered his bed. "Shut up." His voice fell to a whisper at that, his eye burning all the more. "That's not true. You know it isn't. It never was."

_'It was just a lie, Link. A. Lie.'_

* * *

Zelda traced her family's seal with a delicate touch, his bare finger curving over the bird's wings. She had been at this for a while, ignoring her studies. Her mind was too caught up in worrying over Link, to be truthful. He had been acting stranger than strange, even for him. Upon awaking he acted as if he had seen a ghost, clinging to her with the pure fear and distress. It was as if he had come back from death itself or something of that nature. She laughed at that thought, chuckling under her breath as she quickly drew her finger away from the book's cover.

"Princess?" The knock at the door was what she had suspected seconds before, her eyes staring at the shadow that slipped underneath the door with a frown. Was it not clear, with the door shut and her dwelling in her beloved library, that she did not want to be disturbed?

"What is it, Rusl?" She questioned with a bit of a sigh. Taking that as allowance of entry, the door gave a shrilling squeak and slowly opened.

Rusl sauntered in, his arms folded about his chest only to unfold and give a brief bow of the head. "Link has awoken." She eyed the aged swordsman. She had forgotten that she had summoned the old fellow a few days ago for a moment. "And I do apologize if I am late." His continuation of his presence pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Oh, no, you're right on time." She mastered a smile, standing up from her favored table to offer a hand in the traditional greeting. "First, before we begin about the matters surrounding Eldin's province, it being littered with bandits and such more than usual, may I ask how your journey here faired? Not too troublesome I hope?"

The old man returned her smile, unlike her his smile was as real and worry-free as could be. "Good as ever. Ah, but I know you don't care about that, Princess. Link is fine. He'll pull through. If his memory is fuzzy that doesn't mean he'll be back to normal in a few more days. Now, let's get to business. What do you suggest?"

* * *

The darkness thickened in the bleak realm, the whole landscape oddly inverted. The trees and degraded buildings were upside down, stretching as far as they were able to meet the watery ground below. A watery ground that gave a reflection of a rain-cloud sky, the clouds becoming darker and darker with each passing minute. All the while, the chorus of whispers that resounded in this realm shook with frustration. Anger. Hopelessness.

"No. No. No. No. No!" A voice spoke out above the rest, screeching to the point where the upside down trees shook with literal fear. A blackened fist crashed into the watery landscape, the contact forming a wicked crack to spiral out on the odd substitute for flooring. "I shouldn't have let him be." The shadowy fist was raised slightly, crimson eyes peering at the crack that the hand had absentmindedly created. "I should have known he still had some conscience left in him." The voice hissed, blocking out the frantic voices that sounded off about it, the voices that mimicked its anger before giving a fit of maniac laughs.

Another hand came in, swiping at the crimson eyes that continued to bleed profusely with blood. "And those stupid Goddesses! Stupid little children that they are. Weak. Spineless. Worms!" The figure turned, the watery reflection at its feet barely able to show a shadowy make of a man. "Too stupid to take a second glance at me…" his voice softened at this, a wicked smile coiling amongst his blood-stained lips as he again wiped at his eyes. "To realize that though they have re-created time to a "saved point," I still exist. Perhaps not in the Twilight Realm… but I still live."

He turned further away from the cracked bit of flooring, the smile only growing with each step. "Too childish to realize that though their precious Hero died, he's still under my control." With his words, as if to prove them, he raised a hand to his left eye. It was the only eye that continued to bleed, that continued to sting. Through all the hours that he had roamed in this blasted realm, he had watched his left eye turn from its bloody hue to a bloody sapphire. Such an omen… was beautiful. It meant he could still play a part in the game of the Goddesses.

This revelation brought on a laugh of his of which the chorus of voices that surrounded him joined in, rising to a roar. Yes… he could still move. Even if he was trapped in this Goddess forsaken realm, the Hero would get him out… one way or another.

_"And how will you do that?"_ The voices about him laughed, daring the shadowy figure for an answer.

"Is it not obvious, night and day cannot live without the other. He's already corrupted, my words got him the first time and are still present despite him coming back from the dead. He's still the _Light_ and I'm still the _Dark_… so one way or another, he'll come crawling back whether he realizes it or not."

"A pure soul, once tainted, cannot climb back up to where they once stood so easily. Nope, not even with the help of the Sisters of Three."

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**That was short, huh :D (please refrain from killing me... otherwise you will not see what happens next!)... and I even left you with a lovely bit of cliffhangers, sorta!**

**Fun Fact(s): **

**-This chapter is actually 4 pages... 4-6 pages is what this FF usually dwells on for each chapter.-The original title of the FF was The Legend of Twilight but a mishap happened... and it stuck as the Twilight Legend.  
**

**-I almost broke away from the Twilight Princess world for a second there, had to fix it (I had Sheik come in in this chapter and had to fix it... keep confusing parts of this story with another LoZ FF I have)**

**-For some reason, I dislike going past 6-7 pages on FF except when it comes to Degradation's Legend which has around 8-10 pages**

**-You can find me on wattpad (I have original works as well as Midna's Bloody Madness and Degradation's Legend on that site, might have this one up there once I fix 'er up and make 'er all prettifuls): wattpad-dot-com/user/Xcyrne**

**-I'm craving a cookie right about now :3**

**-Starting from Chapter 13, these are all dedicated to those who have Reviewed/Followed/etc. this FF from the very beginning (since this was my first FF ever)**


	15. Chapter 14

******_Fan fiction_****_ (alternatively referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF, or fic) is a broadly-defined fan labor term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator. Works of fan fiction are rarely commissioned or authorized by the original work's owner, creator, or publisher; also, they are almost never professionally published. _This is FAN/FICTION, get that through your heads. Of course there will be some "off" stuff in FF. **

******Rated T for Violence, Mild Cursing, etc.  
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***Prologue-Chapter 3 have been re-edited*  
**

**~****I did not expect anyone to mention continuing on the Reviews and honestly... I felt sad of leaving you all off there for an ending so... I will continue it (you all do know that chapter 12 was the final chapter right?). Look at these next bit of Chapters as a continuation, sequel if you will... so they will not have a title for the Chapters as the past ones have.~**

******Please do Review. How else am I to progress in my work? Even if you hated it, tell me why!**

******Excuse any grammar catastrophes o-o**_.__  
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**-Chapter 14-**

His sapphire eye stared at the pond's glimmering surface a moment longer. It was surprising how he felt right now. He had watched Rusl be killed by one of those blasted Twili monsters. For nights that memory had haunted his dreams… but… with time restored, he didn't feel an ounce of relief to see the old friend alive and healthy. It troubled him. No… it didn't just "trouble" him. It made his skin crawl, his eye twitch, and his breath shake.

It all felt like a lie. Like he had done nothing wrong. The very calm that it brought on was sickening.

His own hand swept across the water, obscuring his reflection with its frantic set of ripples. The very hiss of pain came from his lips, his dry palm tracing the bandage that still wrapped about his head. "Don't worry… I haven't forgotten." His hissing tone trailed with his words, the eye's throb settling to a gradual level. That's right. No matter how it all seemed like everything was right, that nothing had really happened… the eye made it reality.

For a while as he had tossed and turned amongst the bed sheets days ago, the pain of his useless eye had reminded him. Constantly, upon every positive thought that everything was back to normal. Just a sting from this sick eye was enough to pull him back down to the depths of desperation, depression. It was like a constant whisper in the ear, _"I'm still here, ever to act as evidence to your reality that never was."_

"Link?" His entire being nearly flinched at the musical note, so clear and bright, in that one word. Regretfully did he turn, testing a mock smile before giving a slight bow of the head.

"Good morning your highness."

The princess plopped down at his side, skirts and all. "I don't care what the royal staff tell you. You do not have to be formal in bowing and all that, y'know." She gave a huff, nudging him at the shoulder with a playful hand. Ah, but even this gesture refrained from bringing a true smile to his lips.

He allowed his eye to linger on her a moment longer, studying her sun-kissed features. She looked the same, acted the same, and even sounded as she did before the events had occurred… yet… he turned away then, the fake smile wiped clean from his mouth as he focused his attention once more on the pond. "It isn't the castle staff… and I know, but it's just…" his voice trailed. What could he really say that wouldn't make her believe that he had gone insane or utterly ill?

_'It's just… I can't help but remember when I killed you.'_

_ 'I'm afraid that if I act friendly with you that I might turn on you without even realizing it… I'm scared.'_

_ 'I want to drop my heroic titles. I don't want to be close to you in our friendship together, not anymore… I might kill you…'_

No. Letting his words slip off, probably the best thing.

"Link," she leaned closer to him, her chin resting on his shoulder in a curious fashion, "what's been bothe-…"

"If you're not careful, Zelda, you'll get your dress dirty." He pulled away, freeing his shoulder from her pointed jaw. She only gave a sigh, seeming to have completely dropped the curiosity entirely just from that one blunt statement of his. Good. Perhaps she had finally read the atmosphere that seemed to tense with his very aura.

"It's fine, but-…"

"What did Rusl want?"

Another exasperated sigh and a rustle of skirts, "Your village mayor and Rusl volunteered to set more control on the Eldin province. After what you went through, we're afraid that the next victim will not get off easy with a few broken bones and a blind eye. The monsters and bandits are getting worse over there. Rusl came today to request the help of some of my family's soldiers and supplies. The first faction will depart later today. We came to a consensus that first we need to set the perimeters, boundaries, of Eldin's province and then move in from the outside to the province's center."

"We should have planned this a long time ago… instead of waiting till someone got hurt." She leaned forward, wrapping her arms about her torso as if to hug herself. "It's sad really, would we have done this if… someone else with a lower title in Hyrulean society got hurt? I don't think so."

He flinched at her words, his eye flashing to hers for a miserable second. Yes, he had thought so too… after all, Hyrule didn't want to lose its tool, its to-… _'Stop it.'_ He shook his head, replacing a mock smile to obscure his inner conflict. "Nah, not with a princess as caring as you to lead her. Hyrule would have responded no matter who the victim was. I think your father just got exhausted from all of the conflicts around the bridge since violence there has grown for the past few years. I think my situation was the last straw for him."

Zelda leaned farther back, her head tilted in clear thought, "True, I guess. Still, one can't help but wonder… y'know? I mean, it's not every day that a famous symbol of Hyrule succumbs to such situati-…"

"Symbol?"

"Yeah, that's what we are. We represent Hyrule as her brave warriors, children of _courage _and _wisdom_. We're like role models for people to follow. Like-…"

"But saying that we are symbols doesn't sound appealing." He gazed at her with the agitation tainting his tone. _'Again with the "tool" crap.'_

The princess peeled her arms from her legs, sitting up in a proper manner as her gaze hardened. Goodness, the servants had been right, Link was on his time of the month for sure. _'This isn't like him.' _Not just that, but it seemed like his attitude was getting… stranger? No. It was changing, increasing. "What's with you lately?" She inquired with an easy mimic of his tone. Two could play at this game of attitude, especially a princess.

"It's just that, we're repeatedly used throughout generations. We're just shadows of the first Zelda and Link. We're nothing but toys for the Goddesses, aren't we? Every legacy of ours has never lived a normal life. Fate is always unkind and unfavorable. We're like misfits. We have no choice but to be forcefully pushed to the path that we would dare not tread. Why can't we do things our way? Why do we have to live and then die and become forgotten? After all, we don't even know if the past princess of Hyrule and the heroes of the green tunic were, let alone know what their names were. They're just forgotten. Only their shadow is remembered. I dunno, but I don't like being seen as something like a symbol."

She stood up then, her skits sounding off with the sudden movement. Her bare feet slapped over to him, her hand raised. "How dare you!" The princess slapped him, his head creating a ninety-degree spin. "How. Dare. You." Her tone barked out again, the very force of it making him cringe. "After all that the Goddesses have done for us, after all that Hyrule and its people have done for us… you dare to disgrace it just like that? Goodness Link, you're such a child! We have not once been used." Her voice cracked, hand falling back to a limp state at her side, "We have only been loved, honored, and remembered! We have so many people who are grateful to us. We have-…"

Link pushed himself up to glare back at her. For once he wasn't disturbed by the tears that glistened in her eyes. For once… he didn't feel an ounce of remorse for his friend. No, only anger. She wasn't crying from his attitude or his words, he knew her that much. She was crying because… she had thought of it too, but disliked thinking in such a manner. "If I'm loved so much as you say, then why am I constantly placed in the line of death? I've seen so many things that you would never dream of seeing, Zel! I've killed so many souls to the point where I've become apathetic!"

"I'm loved? Goat shit! Every one of the shadows of the Hero of Time, the tool that I represent, is family-less! I've never had a family. They all abandoned me. Every generation, abandoned." Link growled, his eye darkening with every word. For this one moment he didn't even regret the tears that then slipped down his friend's icy skin. Yes, right now he could care less of how she felt. He could care less if she di-… no… no. _'No. Shut up.'_

She opened her lips, the tears coming faster. "Link…" but she trailed in defeat only to turn around and run back to the safe confines of her castle. He watched her fading back, the anger unrelenting as he continuously glared. Of course she would flee.

"Just when things start to get heated." His tone darkened as he in turn turned his back to her, eye glaring at the rippling pond once more. Of course she would choose the second option, to abandon hi-… not consider his words. It was just like her to-

_"The little brat should just go and die. Worthless. She believes that she's special. Different. What gives her the right to question my words? I should be the one turning away. Should be running. Not her."_

He gasped, his hands racing to add unwilling pressure to the sick eye. Oh Goddesses did it burn! The very pain that it emitted, he could even feel it on his palms. The coursing heat, the throbbing pulse.

_"She's just like the rest!"_

The pain gained an octave, his body on the verge of convulsing at the sensation. "S-Stop it!" He swore under shaking breath, resisting the urge to cry out against his internal conflict. Goddesses… the pain!

_"If she's so easily brainwashed into thinking that everything's fine and dandy… then she should just die. Death would be a good thing for her being."_

With such unrelenting pain growing he cried out, unable to smother it as he had hoped. In just that note he lost all breath and fell forward, his hands immediately catching his fall. Once they connected to the ground did he wretch.

_"Yes, death would be like a present to her… the dirty little whore."_

He coughed then, willing himself to calm down but his damaged eye seemed to have a mind of his own… as did… his thoughts. _"I should- we should- kill her."_

"No, shut up. Stop it." He cried out once more, bringing a hand back to his bandaged eye an another useless attempt to soothe it. Yet this time, instead of feeling the dry gauze of bandage and the eye's pain… it was wet. Hot and wet, sticky somehow. He pulled it back, splaying the palm about him under his tear-filled vision.

Blood. So much blood…

_"She can't be saved. In fact, she never could be saved in the first place. She's just like the rest."_

The rusty ribbons slipped down his face, aiding his tears to fall faster. Already the pure white that laced his head was tainted with blood. Even his face was soiled with the blinding color.

_"I- we- should kill her. End her of her suffering. Don't you think?"_

He wretched again, both of his hands clawing hungrily at the now stained earth. His good eye's vision was all but gone now what with the tears and blood. To top it all off, his voice had ceased to exist. Perhaps he had strained it with his crying, either way he didn't care. All he wanted was this pain to stop. End-

_"- end it all."_

Yes. That's right. End it all.

_"End it to where it once was, where everything makes sense."_

Everything makes sense? Yes. That sounds about right. _'Yeah, just kill….'_

He threw himself backward, jumping up from his trembling position against the ground. "No!" He shouted underneath his cries, wiping a hand against his mouth and good eye to clear the way of tears and such. "No."

_"Why not? It'll be easy."_

"No!" He repeated, flinching at the second wave of pain that touched his eye. "Stop it." Angrily, he ripped the bandages free from his eye… and the pain stopped, just like that. The burning sensation ceased as if it had never occurred. As if it was all in his head. Just a dream. Nothing but a-… no, it was real. As if to make sure he rubbed at his bad eye, the crimson vision it offered burning his senses. Yes, it was real. The eye was still bleeding. It still hurt.

Curious as well as angry he stepped back toward the pond. This eye, it was clear that something was wrong with it. He had never heard of a damaged eye creating so much conflict for a being and one being alone. As he drew closer to the pond did he note that the sick eye burned, that the crimson vision seemed to darken, and how his throat seemed to dry with each taken step. Only when he reached the edge of the pond did he fall to his knees, the burning pain seeming on the verge of reenacting what previously happened.

With reluctant features he leaned forward, his fingers coiling about the edge of the earth as he gazed at the crystal, watery surface. The sight nearly made him wretch again. It nearly made him scream from fear, anger. The accursed eye was black, nothing but black and a blood trail left of it. What made matters worse? The black was like mist, it shifted just like the water. Not just that but it gave an unearthly glow, an abnormal heat even. It glowed with a soft, red hue. The softest of rubies he had ever set an eye on yet all in all with the mix of the misty black it was purely disgusting.

Then his good eye settled over his face in full view. He still looked sick, like he had gone through more than just some random ambush on a bridge. He was even smiling, the only contrast of the weak and pained expression that coated his bod-…

Smiling? That's not right. Why would he be? There's nothing to be happy about, not at all.

He narrowed his eyes at the reflection staring back, his bad eye matching his good eye in a sense of expressing confusion. With a hand he felt his lips, the reflection doing just as he. His lips were pursed, straight. There was no curve. No smile. Even more so confused, he pulled his hand away but froze right on the spot.

The reflection's hand didn't follow him. Instead it stayed frozen, hand obscuring part of its smile. Slowly the hand fell back to its side as it blinked, no longer mirroring him. _'You're nothing but a puppet.'_ It spoke, its voice making his head throb.

_'Nothing but a broken toy for the Goddesses. They even decided to hide your legend's broken ancestor from you from the very start. All they do is sit back and do nothing. They just watch you for entertainment. Watch you bleed, suffer, and die. All alone. Always alone.'_

"You should kill them all." His voice spoke out against him, his lips moving on their own accord. He gave a squeak of surprise, trying to cover his mouth with a hand once more, but… his hand refused to be moved. "Let them go through the suffer that you went through, _Light_."

His body stood up on its own then, the reflection still resisting to mirror him as it stood up itself at a slower pace. Again, his body moved at on its own, his feet edging closer to the pond toward the smiling inversion of himself. "It'll be easy. After all, you've always been the killing monster for the Sisters… this will not be any different." His lips moved once more, his feet stopping at the very edge of the pond. As he stopped did the reflection underneath him move, its hand reaching toward him.

The hand outstretched, a misty hand releasing from the confines of the watery surface as it latched onto his leg. He cried out, the fiery coldness eating away at the nerves that raced up and about his leg. Immediately he fell to his knees, the hand still latched on to his ankle. It pulled back then, dragging him closer and closer to the pond that was beginning to blacken with crimson. Its crystal clear substance turning bloody and rusted.

"After all, you are nothing but a puppet… so why not fight back? Show them just how wrong of you that they are, _Light_?" This time the voice was not his own, something that he feared to realize as his good eye widened at the shape that extended farther out of the bloodied water.

Another hand grabbed at the strands of his head, pulling him back up to his feet as the figure further released itself out of the pond. The bloodied shape of man beginning to blacken as it laughed aloud, pulling Link to his feet while releasing his ankle. "Did you honestly think that you could get rid of me that easily, _Light_? I was just getting started." The shape of man grinned, the blood all but gone now so that nothing but a midnight tunic and snowy skin shined back at him. The stranger leaned down slightly, giving Link a better view. A view that he instantly regretted.

Crimson eyes.

_'Dark...'_

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**Still too short, but what a beautiful cliff-hangerish end (sorta)... just for you o3o**

**Fun Fact(s):**

**-I listened to Ghost Town while writing this XD (loves me some Ghost Town!).**

**-My hair is freakin' purple \(^o^)/ (I need to touch it up though ;p )**

**-I sit there for like a full hour on one part because I have no clue on how to continue (I do that a loooot).**

**-This is 5 pages, almost 6**

**-I've never been a "Zelda Fan"... she annoys me in about every LoZ game, haha. Ah, but when she's Tetra I can manage to like her somewhat.**


	16. Chapter 15

**-*sigh* I really am sorry for the slow updates. Despite my summer vaca having started since May 20th, reality has gotten in the way until today (not only that but a major case of writer's block)... that... and I have been working on other written pieces of mine. At the moment I'm working on a new FF, one that will be longer then just my usual amount of pages OnO, as long as I keep my pace with it... it should knock over 10 or more pages. Of course this depends on how much I want to give away in a chapter/part.**

**Read and Review! Even if you don't like it... please tell me why (how else am I supposed to progress here?).-**

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**-Chapter 15—**

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The young Hero cringed, hands immediately coiling about the dark hand that held him. All the while his eyes widened. His heart nearly stopped. He watched in horror as the darkened man drew closer to him, those crimson eyes not seeming so crimson at this view. The counterpart gave a laugh at the shocked sight of him, blinking with that unfamiliar eye of his… that chalky, blue eye. It wouldn't have bothered Link as it did. No, not if it had been the other eye. If it wasn't the same as his eye, his own irises rare and monstrous at this fellow's own sense. It was what _his_ eye should look like.

He ripped himself away from the enemy's grip, stumbling backward in the action. "W-what do you want?" Link demanded, setting his good eye to a glare while his… corrupted, sick little sense of an eye only stared. His question only urged the dark inversion to move toward him once again. Those footfalls matching with his heart as it staggered about in memory.

"Did you honestly think that you could get rid of me that easily?" Dark began, sneering all the while as he closed in on the Hero. The Hero in turn receded, retreating until his back matched with the castle wall. His enemy stopped there, allowing a foot of distance between them. "Chucking me off as a simple little canard?" The shadow of himself gave a laugh, the one difference of an eye becoming clearer in color. Then his laugh ceased. Silence. "Did you honestly," he started again, a voice of whispers, "think that you could forget me with such ease?" His voice rippled with a growl, his right hand curling into a fist. "That I am so weak as to be ended, just like that?" His fist came, smashing into the castle's facade just mere inches from Link's head.

Link trembled, flinching a bit a ways only to be frozen from that glare once more. "I-I… How did you…"

The copy only grinned, silencing Link with a snowy finger to his lips. "The Goddesses cannot get rid of what is stored in someone's heart, now can they? Not only that but they can't get rid of a Hero's counterpart for fear that he might just end up like the thing that he lost: Darkness. Like I've been feeding you, dear Hero, you and I are we. You can't have one without the other, can't have light without dark, day without night." His grin widened at his owns words as he retracted his hand entirely.

"However, you can have a mix of both that come to a consensus. Breaking the balance isn't always a bad thing, you know. Sometimes it's a good thing… like now, for instance." He thrust his hand forward again, his palm crashing heavily into Link's chest. The young Hero squeaked in response, wincing at the soreness that resided on that very spot, right above his heart. Then those fingers coiled about his button up shirt, the nails somehow ripping through the fabric, and sinking into his throbbing flesh. He hissed at the contact, feeling the coldness of his enemy's touch even through the thick gauze that laced his torso.

Dark leaned in, grinning all the while, "This time _Light_," he started, his nails digging deeper into Link's chest, "you will not escape. Why?" He laughed, relishing in the groans that were forced from Link's lips, "Because this time, I'll have your heart—soul."

The Hero screamed, Dark quickly covering his mouth with a mere hand as his other, occupied palm, literally sunk into the boy's flesh. He had literally ripped the skin there, his hand gouging through that canvas of imperfect skin. All the while, black blood poured. A color that made that grin of his gain length.

Then those tainted fingers pressed against bone, the very contact singing the snowy structures as they slipped right on through and set to tracing the heart. That very organ shuddered at the touch, its rhythm becoming even more chaotic was those very fingers drew closer. Ever so close. All the while Link screamed against Dark's hand, shivering at the pain and fear that encased him. That silenced his instincts to fight back, to escape.

His heart gave a final, hard beat before the fingers wrapped around its flesh. Then came the second wave of pain, greater than the first. So great that it littered his vision with black, so great that it made him freeze in mid-panic. For as those fingers grew closer did the healthy tint of his core weaken and twist. It blackened. Turned into an ashen color as its musical beat dropped to a hollow rhythm just like that. Then its hollowed beat died off with a scream, Link's scream. The sound resembled something like a harp snapping one of its strings, a shatter of perfection—glass, or the snap of sanity. So brief yet so deep in loss, pain.

With heart utterly disconnected, now a different being acting out against its host, Dark withdrew his hand. His grin seemed to gain a darker twist as his hand came into view as it drew back from the Hero's chest, the Hero slumping into the villain's chest, to show bloodied—black as night—digits. If he hadn't been busy with revenge and such he would've laughed with joy, performed a little dance even, but right now required complete attention.

Grabbing the young Hero by his shoulders, the boy in turn wincing with closed eyes at the tainted touch, he pressed his forehead against the boy's own and gave bit of a chuckle. "Let's redo this all one more time, hmmm? It'll be fun, _trust me_."

* * *

Zelda sighed, her knees pulled up to her chin as she rocked slightly atop her bed. She had kind of figured Link would utter something negative due to his attitude since he'd been found by the search party, but she had not quite expected those kind of words to come out of his mouth. Goddesses, didn't he know how much he could put himself in trouble if the… Goddesses… heard? She dug her chin farther amongst her knees, another sigh. Of course she'd shared such thoughts before but then she got over it. How? Simple, she was the _Princess of Hyrule_ and as such she could not dare to afford such depressing thoughts while on the job. No matter what, her people needed her and she would make the most of this ability—to help. "You're not alone, Link." She whispered against the silence of her chambers, "And you do have a family… me." Her head bobbled in a nod as if reassuring her statement. Yes, that was right. Link was like her brother, a best friend for eternity, and in some occasions… a lover. Though this usually depended on the situation that ran amok in that history (or so she'd read).

Even so, that did not excuse his outburst. "He seemed lonely, more so than usual." She speculated, remembering how he had stumbled into a bit of a depressed state at the ending of the Years of Twilight. "And angry, as if he had failed. Almost as if he had done something utterly terrible, something da-"

"Zel?" The voice of her friend questioned beyond her chamber door, a hesitant knock following after. She nearly jumped at her skin, knees falling to sweep over the bed's edges at the interruption.

"L-Link?" She tested, worry edging her tone. Surely he wasn't confronting her to utter an apology? Of all things, this was not the situation for the sharing of apologies. If anyone needed to express regret, it was her. "What is it?" She spoke again as she shuffled her way to the door, ignoring the hem of her dress as it rustled against the wooden floors.

"I'd like to talk to you, say sorry, and stuff." Link had replied, muttering as he continued on with his answer. Releasing yet another sigh she opened the door, managing a genuine smile as she looked upon a "better" looking Link. He was actually holding a real smile on his lips, for once. Since he had been found and even during recovery he had not smiled quite like this. Not for a long time.

He stood at her door's arch, arms folded firmly against his chest as he raised his head slightly as if to look over her shoulder. "Link, there's no need to say an apology. If anyone is to do so, it should be me." She smiled in return, watching as his eyes again drifted behind her.

"No need, princess. It's understandable, but I was still in the wrong." Link gave a sheepish shrug of his shoulders, smile fading to that of a frown as he shifted past her to the depths of her room. "I'm not sure what came over me then. Ha… I guess I've just let my frustration and such build up to the point that I burst and spouted crazy things."

The princess adamantly shook her head, plopping down on her bed once more as she watched him do a worried pattern of shifting from foot to foot, "You weren't spouting crazy things, I mean I've thought in that sense before but I-"

"Oh, you have?" She looked up to his face then, his frown all but gone. In fact, his face was completely devoid. Nothing. Almost like… "Zel?"

"Y-Yes."

He nodded his head slightly, taking a rather curious step toward her. "You aren't sympathizing are you?"

She flinched at his tone. It was… different. No, it was more than that. It was unlike him. Foreign. It didn't fit his lips, his words, or his personality. "Are you feeling all right Link?"

The Hero blinked then, stopping his pace toward her as if taken aback by the question. "Feeling all right? Why princess, I've never felt this great." He smiled, a darker smile than what was usual on his lips.

She stood then from the confines of her bed, gaze narrowing, "You are not, by all means, 'all right.' What's wrong, honestly. Come on, Link, tell me." She pleaded then, extending a hand to give a comforting squeeze of reassurance to his shoulder but he flinched away from her grip.

"Don't touch me." He bristled through gritted teeth, "Don't act as if you _know _everything, you disgusting worm!" Right then, he lunged at her, grabbing her arm and yanking her closer to him, "I worked so hard yet you had to ruin it with your stupid connection with _him_! He was under my control until you and your pathetic life were whisked away by Death. Why can't you just stay dead? It would do the world a favor." The Hero seethed, snarling as he tightened his grip about her wrist.

She pulled away in a brisk manner but to no avail did that iron grip loosen. Giving a worried look to the door behind her friend's back, "Link, what're you saying… stop this. Please. You're scaring me."

He laughed at that, a dark, twisting, and echoing laugh that made the princess shiver from just the tone of it as it grated against the floorboards. "Oh, that's not the only thing you're going to fear, my princess. This time, time will not redo itself. I'll make sure of that and to go against such a thing, you'll leave first." He tugged her closer to him, gripping her other wrist.

"W-What are you saying! Link, you almost act as if you were poss-"

"Possessed? Ah, not possessed… more like… consumed, dirtied. Hahaha, you have no idea how easy it is to taint a pure soul, do you princess? Hahaha, m-may-haha-maybe I should just taint your soul too-hahaha- before death!" His laugh heightened at this, his eyes narrowing as that growing grin of his took on a darker edge. That was then that she noticed his useless eye, it was no longer hidden away with bandages. Instead it was open for all the world to see what with its milky iris, dark swirls swimming about in the pool of white. As if on cue of her noticing, the eye turned black. Shifting into something like a black hole as crimson ribbons dripped from the tear ducts of just that one eye. She frantically adjust her attention to the "good" eye, the sapphire tint darkened with a tint of blood and snow.

"Who are you?" She demanded, squeaking as this person yanked her closer so that their faces were inches apart.

The stranger chuckled, drawing his mouth to her ear as he allowed his nails to gouge her wrists with the increasing pressure of that iron grip, "Dark Link, the forgotten Twilight Legend. The bane of the Hero of Time's existence and your… murderer." He sneered, trailing his right hand's digits up her arm. She shivered at the contact, uselessly pulling away as that very hand traced up her shoulder straight to her neck. "Go on, princess," he whispered, chuckling all the while, "scream for your Hero, for your Goddesses… anyone, because no matter what I will bathe your soul in the most beautiful shades of blood."

His fingers curled about her neck, the other hand drawing up her other arm to join its 'lover' as it curled about her thin neck as well. The princess immediately let out an ear splitting shriek as her hand flew out to his chest, pushing at the corrupted Hero. Again did she scream, hand clenching to fists as she pushed him again but a second time proved just as futile as the first. His hold about her neck only tightened.

* * *

**Cliffhanger-ish... it means I love you in WolfsLegend speak (OuO) *huggles***

**Review to join me in a magical adventure of unicorns and rainbows.**


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